^ 


Stom  t^e  feifirari?  of 

'mot  TTiffiatn  (gtiffer  Qpaxton,  ©.©.,  &&. 
^reeenfe^  6l?  (^tte.  ^arfon 
to  f  ^e  feifirar^  of 
(prtncefon  ^^eofogtcaf  ^eminarj 


1 


I 


/ 

MAGIC, 


PRETENDED    MIRACLES, 


¥ 


AND 


REMARKABLE 

NATUEAL  PHENOMENA. 


PHILADELPmA : 
AMERICAN   SUNDAY-SCHOOL   UNION, 

NO.  146  CEEST>XT  STREET. 
LOXDOX: 

RELIGIOUS  TRACT   SOCIETY. 


Note.— The  American  Sunday-school  Union  have  made  an 
arrangement  with  the  London  Rdigiotis  IVact  Society,  to  pub- 
lish, concurrently  with  them,  such  of  their  Taluahle  works  aa 
are  best  suited  to  our  circulation.  In  making  the  selection, 
reference  will  be  had  to  the  general  utility  of  the  volumes,  and 
their  sound  moral  tendency.  They  will  occupy  a  distinct  place 
on  our  catalogue,  and  will  constitute  a  valuable  addition  to  our 
stock  of  books  for  family  and  general  reading. 

As  they  will  be,  substantially,  reprints  of  the  London  edition, 
the  credit  of  their  general  character  will  belong  to  our  English 
brethren  and  not  to  us ;  and  we  may  add,  that  the  republicar 
tion  of  them,  under  our  joint  imprint,  involves  us  in  no  respon- 
sibility beyond  that  of  a  judicious  selection.  We  cheerfully 
avail  ourselves  of  this  arrangement  for  giving  wider  influence 
and  value  to  the  labours  of  a  sister  institution  so  catholic  in 
its  character  and  so  efficient  in  its  operations  as  the  London 
Religious  Tract  Society. 

\^y  The  present  volume  is  issued  under  the  above  arrange* 
ment. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

PAoa 

The  magi  of  the  east— Magical  power  attributed  to  num- 
bers, plants,  and  minerals 6 

CHAPTER  II. 

Feats  of  modem  magicians— Tbeir  wonders  explained— 
The  snake-charmers  of  India— A  Chinese  delusion— 
The  magician  of  Cairo X) 

CHAPTER  III. 

Machines  considered  magical  in  ancient  times— Remark- 
able modern  automata— Minute  engines- Tne  calcu- 
lating machine 30 

CHAPTER   IV. 

Terrestrial  phenomena— Footmarks  on  rocks— The  Logan 
stone  — Sounds  in  stones— The  cave  of  St.  Paul- 
Atmospherical  phenomena  — Intermitting  springs- 
Waters  of  magical  power 41 

CHAPTER  V. 

Chemical  wonders— Ice  obtained  in  a  red-hot  vessel— 
The  corpse  candles  of  Wales— Luminous  appearances 
after  death— Sadoomeh  the  magician— The  laughing 
gas-Sulphuric  ether— Chloroform— Gunpowder  com- 
pared with  gun-cotton 62 

CHAPTER  VI. 

Light  and  its  phenomena— Magic  pictures— The  optical 
paradox— Chinese  metallic  mirrors— Effect  of  an  optical 
instrument  on  a  superstitious  mind— Origin  of  photo- 
graphy—The Talbotype— The  Daguerreotype  —  Sun- 
light pictiu-es 87 

iii 


IV  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  VII. 

PAGE 

Heat,  the  cause  of  many  wonders— Its  universal  diffusion 
and  application— Story  of  a  burning-glass— The  Au- 
gustine friars  and  the  Jesuits- Impostures  as  to  the 
endurance  of  heat— Burning  mirrors — The  blow-pipe 
— The  Giants'  Causeway— Application  of  currents  of 
heated  air — Travelling  by  steam 107 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

Tlie  magic  swan — Properties  of  the  magnet— The  mari- 
ners' compass— Process  of  magnetizing— The  dip  of 
the  needle— Magnetic  properties  in  various  substances     124 

CHAPTER  IX. 

Tlie  electrical  kite— Candles  magically  lighted  — St. 
Elmo's  fire — The  chronoscope— The  electric  clock — 
The  electric  telegraph— Sub-marine  telegraphs— The 
overruling  providence  of  God 133 

CHAPTER  X. 

Claims  of  the  church  of  Rome  to  miraculous  power— The 
Franciscans  and  Dominicans — Tale  of  bishop  Remi — 
The  effect  of  relics— Friars'  pretended  dispossession  of 
evil  spirits — Tragical  event— Appearance  of  the  virgin 
Mary  to  shepherds  exposed — Pretended  miracle  of  the 
Greek  church 154 

CHAPTER  XI. 

Real  amiracles — A  miracle  defined  by  rchbishop  Tillot- 
son — The  miracles  of  Moses — The  miracles  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ— The  miracles  of  the  apostles— Collision 
with  those  who  pretended  to  supernatural  power — The 
magicians  of  Egypt— Magical  arts  at  Ephesus— The 
miraculous  power  of  the  Saviour  inherent,  that  of  the 
prophets  and  apostles  derived— Cessation  of  miracu- 
lous gifts 181 


MAGIC,  PRETENDED  MIRACLES, 

ETC 


CHAPTER   I. 


The  magi  of  the  east— Magical  power  attributed  to 
numbers,  plants,  and  minerals. 

The  magi  formed  oae  of  the  six  tribes  into 
which  the  nation  of  the  Medes  was  divided  in 
ancient  times.  To  them  was  entrusted  the 
special  charge  of  rehgion;  and,  as  priests,  they 
were  superior  in  education  and  training  to  the 
people  in  general.  Among  the  Persians,  "  the 
lovers  of  wisdom  and  the  servants  of  God" 
were,  according  to  Suidas,  called  magi.  It 
seems  also,  that  they  extended  themselves  into 
other  lands,  and  that  among  the  Chaldeans 
they  were  an  organized  body. 

We  read  in  the  inspired  book  of  Daniel,  of 
"  the  magi,"  or  "  wise  men,"  among  whom  the 
prophet  himself  was  classed;  and  others,  we 
know,  directed  by  "  the  star  in  the  east,"  went 
to  the  infiint  Saviour,  when  born,  at  Bethlehem, 
"  as  Christ  the  Lord,"  and  presented  to  him 
their  offerings,  "  gold,  and  frankincense,  and 
myrrh."     Among  the  Greeks  and  Romans,  the 

1*  5 


6  MAGIC. 

same  class  of  persons  was  styled  Chaldeans  and 
magi. 

For  a  time,  the  magi  surpassed  the  rest  of 
the  world  in  knowledge,  and  were  the  friends, 
companions,  and  counsellors,  of  its  mightiest 
sovereigns.  But  their  science,  from  having 
no  solid  basis,  sank,  after  a  while,  into  in- 
significance. On  the  ruins  of  its  reputation 
other  persons  sought  to  build  theirs.  A  man 
who  knew,  or  could  perform  some  things,  with 
which  others  had  no  acquaintance,  or  for  which 
they  had  no  power,  announced  himself  as  a 
magician.  Nor  were  the  people  indisposed  to 
concede  to  him  the  credit  he  desired,  espe- 
cially if  he  claimed  alliance  with  spiritual 
beings  ;  and,  in  not  a  few  instances,  they  at- 
tributed his  marvels  to  such  agency.  Thus, 
then,  the  magician  may  be  traced  to  the  magus ^ 
or  magian;  and  magic,  to  the  so-called  philo- 
sophy of  the  east 

Magic  squares  are  of  great  antiquity.  A 
square  of  this  kind  is  divided  into  several  other 
small  equal  squares,  or  cells,  filled  up  with  the 
terms  of  any  progression  of  numbers,  but 
generally  an  arithmetical  one;  so  that  those 
in  each  band,  whether  horizontal,  vertical,  or 
diagonal,  shall  always  make  the  same  sum.v 
The  ancients  ascribed  to  them  great  virtues; 
and  the  disposition  of  numbers  formed  the 
basis  and  principle  of  many  of  their  talismans. 
Accordingly,  a  square  of  one  cell,  filled  up 
with  unity,  was  the  symbol  of  the  Deity,  on 
account  of  the  unity  and  immutability  of  God } 


MAGICAL  POWER  OF  PLANTS.  7 

for  they  remarked  that  this  square  was,  by  its 
nature,  unique  and  immutable ;  the  product  of 
unity  by  itself  being  always  unity.  The 
square  of  the  root  two,  was  the  symbol  of  im- 
perfect matter,  both  on  account  of  the  four 
elements,  and  of  its  being  supposed  impossible  to 
arrange  this  square  magically.  A  square  of  nine 
cells  was  assigned  or  consecrated  to  Saturn ;  that 
ofsixteen  to  Jupiter;  that  of  twenty-five  to  Mars; 
that  of  thirty-six  to  the  sun ;  that  of  forty-nine 
to  Venus ;  that  of  sixty-four  to  Mercury ;  and 
that  of  eighty-one,  or  nine  on  each  side,  to  the 
moon.  Those  who  can  find  any  relation  be- 
tween two  planets,  and  such  an  arrangement  of 
numbers,  must  have  minds  strongly  tinctured 
with  superstition ;  yet  so  it  was  in  the  mysterious 
philosophy  of  lamblichus,  Porphyry,  and  their 
disciples. 

Plants,  as  well  as  numbers,  were  long  con- 
sidered to  be  endowed  with  magical  properties. 
Pliny  enumerates  those  which,  according  to 
Pythagoras,  were  supposed  to  have  the  power 
of  concealing  waters.  To  others  were  attri- 
buted extraordinary  effects.  The  asyrites^  as 
it  was  denominated  by  the  Egyptians,  was 
used  under  the  idea  that  it  acted  as  a  de- 
fence against  witchcraft ;  and  the  nepenthes^ 
■which  Helen  presented,  in  a  potion,  to  Mene- 
laus,  was  believed,  by  the  same  people,  to  be 
powerful  in  banishing  sadness,  and  in  restoring 
the  mind  to  its  accustomed,  or  even  to  greater 
cheerfulness.  Whatever  may  be  the  virtues  oi 
such  herbs,  they  were  used  rather  from   an 


8  MAGIC. 

idea  of  their  magical  tlian  of  their  medicinal 
qualities;  every  cure  was  cunningly  ascribed 
to  some  mysterious  and  occult  power. 

From  the  same  superstition,  metals  and 
stones  were  supposed  to  be  endowed  with  sin- 
gular virtues:  the  opal,  to  grow  pale  at  the 
touch  of  poison ;  the  emerald,  to  remove  intoxi- 
cation; and  the  carbuncle,  "only  to  be  found 
in  the  head  of  the  dragon,  the  hideous  inhabit- 
ant of  the  island  of  Ceylon,"  to  shine  in  the 
darkness.  As  the  metal  called  gold  always 
bore  the  highest  value,  it  was  concluded,  from 
an  absurd  analogy,  that  its  power  to  preserve 
health  and  cure  disease  must  likewise  surpass 
that  of  all  other  applications.  Multitudes  gave 
themselves  to  busy  idleness  in  attempting  to 
render  it  potable,  and  to  prevent  it  from  again 
being  converted  into  metal.  Not  only  did  they 
labour  in  obscure  situations,  but  in  the  splendid 
laboratories  of  nobles  and  sovereigns.  Men 
of  rank,  impelled  by  one  common  frenzy, 
formed  secret  alliances ;  and  even  proceeded  to 
such  extravagance  as  to  bring  ruinous  debts  on 
themselves  and  their  posterity.  The  object  of 
which  they  were  in  pursuit  was  "  an  elixir  of 
life." 

In  Italy,  Germany,  France,  and  other 
countries,  the  common  people  often  denied 
themselves  the  necessaries  of  life,  to  save  as 
much  as  would  purchase  a  few  drops  of  the 
tincture  of  gold,  which  was  superstitiously  or 
fraudulently  offered  for  sale.  So  fully  did  they 
confide  in  the  efficacy  of  this  imaginary  power, 


MAGIC  POWER  OF  MINERALS.  9 

that  on  it  generally  depended  their  only  hope 
of  recovery.  Positively  was  the  desired  boon 
promised,  but  only  to  mock  expectation.  Our 
times  are  in  the  hands  of  God ;  and  at  his  will 
the  dust  returns  to  the  dust  from  whence  it 
was  taken,  and  the  spirit  to  him  who  gave  it. 

How  fearful  was  the  ignorance  that  prevailed 
in  the  bygone  times  to  which  a  reference  has 
been  made!  What  gratitude  should  we  feel  for 
the  advantages  we  enjoy!  Let  us,  then,  con- 
stantly remember  that  as  to  us  much  has  been 
given,  so  of  us  much  will  be  required ;  and  that 
one  kind  of  knowledge  surpasses  all  others: 
"This,"  said  the  adorable  Redeemer,  "is  life 
eternal,  that  they  might  know  thee  the  only 
true  God,  and  Jesus  Christ,  whom  thou  hast 
sent,"  John  xvii.  3. 


CHAPTER   II. 

Feats  of  inodern  magicians— Their  wonders  explained— The 
snake-charmers  of  India — A  Chinese  delusion — The  magi- 
cian of  Cairo. 

WoNDEii-woiiKERS  have  often  appeared.  Some 
of  them  have  lately  repeated  their  most  re- 
markable feats  in  London  and  various  places  in 
England,  varied  by  others  of  inferior  interest. 
Large  and  astonished  assemblies  have  witnessed 
their  performance,  and  public  journals  have 
described  them  as  absolutely  "  inexplicable." 
And  yet,  though  the  writer  has  no  personal 
acquaintance  with  any  modern  "  magician,"  he 
has  no  doubt  that  all  their  feats  may  be  ac- 
counted for,  from  sleight-of-hand,  confederacy, 
ingenious  contrivance,  or  the  application  of 
some  natural  law.  A  few  illustrations  shaU 
now  be  given. 

Many  delusions  are  entirely  dependent  on 
sleight-of-hand;  a  rapidity  of  manipulation 
being  attained  by  long  practice,  as  in  the  mar- 
vellous movements  of  the  fingers  of  a  highly 
accomplished  instrumental  performer;  while  the 
power  may  become  so  great  as  to  defy  the 
10 


ILLUSIONS  EXPLAINED.  11 

observation  of  the  acutest  vision.  The  late 
Mr.  Walker,  minister  at  Demattar,  in  the 
Mears,  told  sir  Walter  Scott  of  a  young 
country  girl,  who  threw  turf,  stones,  and  other 
missiles,  with  such  dexterity,  that  it  was,  for  a 
time,  impossible  to  ascertain  the  agency  em- 
ployed in  the  disturbances  of  which  she  was 
the  sole  cause. 

A  friend  of  the  writer  has  a  remarkable  nicety 
of  touch,  and,  at  pleasure,  a  rapid  movement  of 
the  hands,  by  which  lie  can  rival  many  magical 
feats.  Thus  he  conveys  balls  under  cups,  and 
appears  to  change  them  into  fruit,  to  the 
astonishment  of  lookers-on.  He  also  takes  two 
horn  cups  of  exactly  the  same  size,  and  pro- 
duces the  impression  that  he  causes  one  to  fall 
through  the  other,  when  this  is  impossible,  and 
all  that  is  done  is  effected  'l^y  dexterous  and 
rapid  manipulation,  illustrating  the  proverb, 
"  The  hand  is  quicker  than  the  eye." 

Many  astounding  feats,  Avhich  form  a  part  of 
all  popular  magical  exhibitions,  are  peiformed 
by  this  leger -de-main.  Apparently,  the  per- 
former receives  a  lady's  wedding-ring  and 
breaks  it  in  pieces ;  burns  a  five-pound  note 
handed  to  him  by  a  spectator  ;  reduces  a  hat 
to  a  hideous  shape;  or  crushes  a  bonnet  into 
fragments,  and  then  restores  them  uninjured  to 
the  respective  parties,  amidst  the  acclamations 
of  the  multitude.  But  all  that  is  done  is  with 
indescribable  rapidity  to  substitute  nrticles  of 
his  own  to  undergo  the  process  of  destruc- 
tion, and,  at  the  right  moment,  to  exhibit  those 


12"  MAGIC. 

which  have  been  presented  by  the  spectators; 
and  are  preserved  in  safety. 

Another  cause  of  wonderment  is  covfederacy. 
A  modern  performer  has  been  accustomed  to 
hand  a  box  to  one  of  his  audience,  requesting 
that  in  it  might  be  placed  any  article  that  he 
had,  and  that  it  might  be  passed  on  from  one 
to  another  for  the  same  purpose.  While  this 
has  been  done,  he  has  proceeded  to  his  table, 
and  apparently  waited  the  filling  of  the  box. 
At  length,  while  the  box  has  been  held  up  at  a 
distance,  he  has  placed  his  rod  to  his  eye  and 
described  the  collection  that  has  been  made. 
He  has  said,  perhaps,  "  I  can  see  in  that  box  a 
piece  of  ribbon,  a  lozenge,  a  few  grains,  part,  I 
dare  say,  of  a  pinch  of  snuff,  and  a  lady's  card; 
I  will  try  and  read  it — Miss  —  Clara  —  Hen- 
derson ;"  and  so  he  passes  through  the  chief  part 
of  the  series.  And  yet,  as  his  patrons  look  on 
with  astonishment,  they  do  not  think  of  what 
is  most  likely  to  be  the  fact,  that  a  confederate, 
sitting  as  one  of  the  audience,  made  a  list  of 
the  articles  as  they  were  deposited  in  the  box, 
and  despatched  it  in  portions  or  altogether,  so 
that  their  names  might  reach  the  eye  of  the 
performer  from  some  part  of  his  table. 

A  third  means  of  wonder-working  is  that  of 
ingenious  contrivance.  We  will  illustrate  this 
by  two  popular  feats.  A  number  of  handker- 
chiefs taken  from  the  audience  by  more  than 
one  popular  performer,  were  placed  in  a  small 
washing- tub,  into  which  water  was  poured,  and 
they  were  washed  for  a  few  minutes.     They 


ILLUSIONS  EXPLAINED. 


13 


were  then  placed  in  a  vessel  like  the  figure, 
below,  and  immediately  "* 

afterwards  the  performer 
said  to  the  persons  in 
front :  "  I  will  give  you 
these;"  and  taking  off 
the  top,  when  he  was 
expected  to  throw  out 
the  wet  handkerchiefs, 
all  that  fell  was  a  num- 
ber of  flowers.  Pie  now 
brought  out  a  box,  which 
he  opened,  and  showed 
it  to  be  empty ;  then 
shutting  it,  and  uttering 
a  few  cabalistic  words, 
lie  opened  it  again,  and 
there  were  the  handker- 
chiefs, all  dry,  folded, 
and  scented,  which  he 
distributed  to  their  re- 
spective claimants. 

Another  experiment  of  a  popular  performer 
was  called  "coffee  for  the  million.''  Producing 
a  vessel  like  the  diagram  a  ; 
the  performer  filled  it  with  un- 
ground  coffee,  and  placing  it 
under  a  cover  b,  he  said,"  There, 
when  you  have  done  that,  let  it 
simmer  for  three-quarters-of-an 
hour ;  but,  perhaps,  you  will 
not  like  to  wait  so  long  ;   here 


14  MAGIC. 

then  it  is ;"  and  on  removing 
the  cover,  the  vessel  appeared 
full  of  hot  liquid  coffee.  In 
another  vessel  of  the  same 
kind  he  obtained  lump-sugar 
from  rape- seed ;  and  in  a  third, 
warm  milk  from  horse-beans ; 
and  pouring  out  the  coffee 
into  cups,  sent  them  round  to 
regale  his  auditory,  amidst 
B  their     'oud    and     approving 

shouts  at  so  great  a  transformation. 

As  these  feats  are  the  result  of  considerable 
ingenuity,  it  is  probable  that  the  devices  em- 
ployed would  not  readily  occur  to  spectators  in 
general,  while  they  would  utterly  escape  those 
whose  object  is  merely  amusement,  and  who,  if 
they  thought  at  all,  would  be  likely  to  describe 
the  result  as  supernatural.  We  proceed,  then, 
to  the  unravelling  of  the  mystery.  Let  it  be 
observed,  in  reference  to  the  firet  experiment, 
that  a  number  of  handkerchiefs  are  collected  in 
the  early  part  of  the  evening  for  various  illu- 
sions, and  that  many  of  them  appear  for  a  time 
on  the  performer's  table.  Provided  with  a 
connection  of  these  articles,  from  the  handsome 
silk  handkerchief  to  one  trimmed  with  lace, 
used  by  a  fashionable  lady,  he  could  easily 
substitute  his  own  of  the  same  kind  for  those  of 
his  auditory,  as  the  curtain  falls,  according  to 
the  arrangements  of  the  evening,  between  the 
collection  of  the  handkerchieis  and  the  subse- 
quent process.     His  own  handkerchiefs,  there- 


ILLUSIONS  EXPLAINED. 


15 


fore,  are  washed  and  placed  in  the  vase  ah-eady 
described;  and  the  so-called  change  into  Howers 
is    nothing   more  than 
the    retention    of    tlie 
handkerchiefs    in    the 
lower  part  of  tlie  appa- 
ratus, which  the  figure 
illustrates,    while    the 
upper    part    holds    the 
flowers    till    they    are 
scattered     among     the 
spectators.   Meanwhile, 
all  that  is  required   is 
done  to  their  handker- 
chiefs.    It  is  not  abso- 
lutely   necessary    that 
they  should  be  washed; 
for    folding,     pressing, 
and  a  little  eau-de-Co- 
logne, would  complete 
the    preparation ;    but 
granting  that  they  are 
washed,  there  is  still  no 
difficulty,    though   this 
mystifies     the    specta- 
tors, who  have  the  idea 
that    drying   is  a  long  aftair ;    for  it  may  be 
effected   in  a   minute   or   two   by  a  machine 
that    is    readily  obtained.      The  box    brought 
out   has    them    deposited    in   it,  but    as    it   is 
double,   one  interior  is  first  shown,  which,  of 
course,  contains  nothing,  for  the  inner  drawer 
holding  the  handkerchiefs  remains  in  the  case  ; 


16 


MAGIC. 


but  when  a  few  sounds  are  uttered  and  the 
professor  touches  a  secret  spring  behind,  which 
disengages  the  inner  box,  he  draws  it  out  with 
the  outer  one  ;  and  presents  the  handkerchiefs 


to  the  audience.  In  the  diagram  a,  the  box  is 
shown  as  empty.  At  b,  we  have  a  representa- 
tion of  the   box  containing  the  handkerchiefs. 


ILLUSIONS  EXPIAINED. 


17 


It  is  only  necessary  to  add  that  the  box  is  very 
nicely  made  ;  the  part  within  the  other  drawn 
out  to  the  end,  defies  detection. 

The  preparation  of  coffee,  milk,  and  sugar, 
may  be  easily  explained ;  for  if  the  vessels  con- 
taining respectively  the  unground  coffee,  the 
rape-seed,  and  the  horse-beans,  always  placed 
under  a  cover,  be  put  on  a  part  of  the  table 


having  a  circular  trap-door — and  for  this  there 

is  full  provision  in  the  cover  of  the  table  ex- 

2* 


18  MAGIC. 

tending  to  tlie  floor — a  confederate  may  readily 
substitute  one  for  the  other. 

The  Rev.  W.  Arthur,  in  his  work  on  the 
Mysore,  directs  us  to  results  of  a  different  kind: 
— "  Whilst  walking  in  the  verandah,"  he  says, 
"  some  snake-charmers  approached,  and  forth- 
with began  to  show  us  their  skill.  They  pro- 
duced several  bags  and  baskets,  containing 
serpents  of  the  most  poisonous  kind — the  cobra 
di  capello ;  then  blew  upon  an  instrument 
shaped  like  a  cocoa-nut,  with  a  short  tube 
inserted,  and  producing  music  closely  allied  to 
that  of  the  bag-pipe.  The  animals  were  brought 
forth,  raised  themselves  to  the  music,  spread 
out  their  head,  showing  the  spectacle  mask 
fully  distended,  and  waved  about  with  consi- 
derable grace,  and  little  appearance  of  venom. 
The  men  coquetted  with  them,  and  coiled  them 
about  their  persons,  without  any  sign  of  either 
dislike  or  fear.  This  power  of  dealing  with 
creatures  so  deadly  is  ascribed  by  the  natives 
to  magic.  Europeans  generally  account  for  it 
by  saying  that  the  fangs  are  extracted.  But 
the  most  reasonable  explanation  seems  to  be, 
that  when  the  snake  is  first  caught,  by  a 
dexterous  movement  of  the  charmer,  the  hand 
is  slipped  along  the  body,  until  it  reaches  the 
neck,  which  he  presses  so  firmly,  as  to  compel 
an  ejection  of  the  virus  ;  thus  destroying,  for  a 
time,  all  power  to  harm ;  and  that  this  opera- 
tion is  repeated  as  often  as  is  necessary,  to 
prevent  the  dangerous  accumulation.  If  this 
be  true — and  I  believe  it  is — nothing  is  neces- 


SERPENT  CHARMING.  19 

sary  to  the  safe  handling  of  these  reptiles,  but 
a  knowledge  of  the  laws  which  regulate  the 
venomous  secretion.  The  wonder  seems  to  lie 
in  the  power  they  possess  of  attracting  the 
snakes  by  their  rude  music,  and  seizing  them 
in  the  first  instance.  But  enough  is  known  to 
make  it  evident  that,  in  what  all  natives  and 
many  Europeans  regard  as  mysterious  and 
magical,  there  is  nothing  but  experience,  tact, 
and  courage." 

A  strange  and  repulsive  feat  is  thus  described 
by  the  Rev.  G.  Smith,  in  his  recent  work  on 
*'  China,"  "  Aquei  conducted  us  into  a  room, 
where  he  was  sitting  with  his  two  wives,  hand- 
somely attired,  looking  from  a  window  on  the 
crowd  assembled  in  the  street  to  witness  the 
performances  of  a  native  juggler.  The  latter, 
after  haranguing  the  crowd  with  much  anima- 
tion in  the  Nanking  dialect,  (as  is  usual  with 
actors,)  proceeded  to  one  part  of  the  crowd, 
and  took  thence  a  child,  apparently  five  or  six 
years  old,  who,  with  struggling  resistance,  was 
led  into  the  centre  of  the  circle.  The  man 
then,  with  impassioned  gesture,  violently  threw 
the  child  on  a  wooden  stool,  and,  placing  him 
on  his  back,  flourished  over  him  a  large  knife  ; 
the  child  all  the  time  sobbing  and  crying  as  if 
from  fright.  Two  or  three  older  men  from  the 
crowd  approached,  with  earnest  remonstrances 
against  the  threatened  deed  of  violence.  For  a 
time,  he  desisted,  but,  soon  after,  returning  to 
the  child,  who  was  still  uttering  most  pitiable 
cries,  he  placed  him  with  his  back  upwards. 


20  MAGIC. 

and,  notwithstanding  the  violent  protests  of  the 
seniors,  he  suddenly  dashed  the  knife  into  the 
back  of  the  child's  neck,  which  it  appeared  to 
enter  till  it  had  almost  divided  it  from  the 
head;  the  blood  meanwhile  flowing  copiously 
from  the  wound,  and  streaming  to  the  ground, 
and  over  the  hands  of  the  man.  The  struggle 
of  the  child  grew  more  and  more  feeble,  and  at 
last  altogether  ceased.  The  man  then  arose, 
leaving  the  knife  firmly  fixed  in  the  child's 
neck.  Copper  cash  was  then  thrown  liberally 
into  the  ring,  for  the  benefit  of  the  principal 
actors.  These  were  collected  by  assistants,  all 
of  them  viewing  the  influx  of  the  coins  with 
great  delight,  and  bowing  continually  to  the 
spectators,  and  reiterating  the  words,  '  To 
seoz,'  '  Many  thanks.'  After  a  time,  the  man 
proceeded  towards  the  corpse,  pronounced  a 
few  words,  took  away  the  knife,  and  called 
aloud  to  the  child.  Soon  there  appeared  the 
signs  of  returning  animation.  The  stiiTness  of 
death  gradually  relaxed,  and  at  last  he  stood 
up  among  the  eager  crowd,  who  closed  around 
him,  and  bountifully  rewarded  him  with  cash. 
The  performance  was  evidently  one  which  ex- 
cited delight  in  the  bystanders,  who,  by  their 
continued  shouts,  showed  their  approbation  of 
the  acting." 

It  is  almost  superfluous  to  add,  that  the 
deception  consisted  in  the  construction  of  the 
blade  and  the  handle  of  the  knife,  so  that,  by- 
making  a  sawing  motion  on  the  throat  of  the 
cliild,  a  stream  of  coloured  liquid,  resembling 


ABD-EL-KADER.  21 

blood,  is  pumped  out ;  a  little  acting  on  the 
part  of  the  performer  and  the  child  is  amply 
sufficient  for  all  the  rest. 

Within  the  last  few  years,  we  have  had  ac- 
counts of  a  magician  in  Egypt,  first  described 
in  a  valuable  work  on  that  country  by  Mr. 
Lane,  which  produced  an  extraordinary  im- 
pression.      The   ma- 


/.■ 

•\<  y  .-'    <y    t_  -^ 

•f 

V 

% 

3 

/^^ 

1 

X 

^^p 

rrr> 

^ 

^ 

r 

Va 

'•■\>    y-  ^  C:  ^ 

gician,  it  was  said, 
caused  a  boy  to  see 
certain  persons  called 
for,  in  a  little  ink, 
placed  in  his  hand,  in 
the  centre  of  a  double 
magic  square,  some- 
what like  the  figure. 
One  of  the  most  pro- 
found writers  of  the 
age  even  wrote:  "  There  will  be  no  lack  of 
confidence  to  pronounce  ;  and  the  authority  so 
pronouncing  will  assume  the  name  and  tone  of 
philosophy,  that  there  was  nothing  more  in  the 
whole  matter  than  artful  contrivance ;  that 
there  was  no  intervention  of  an  intelligent 
agency  extraneous  to  that  of  the  immediate 
ostensible  agent.  But  can  this  assumption  be 
made  on  any  other  ground  than  a  prior  general 
assumption  that  there  is  no  such  preternatural 
intervention  in  the  system  of  the  world  ?  But 
how  to  know  that  there  is  not  ?  The  negative 
decision  pronounced  in  confident  ignorance,  is 
a  conceited  impertinence,  which  ought  to  be 
rebuked  by  that  jihilosophy  whose  oracles  it  is 


22  MAGIC. 

affecting  to  utter.  For  what  any  man  knows, 
or  can  know,  there  may  be  such  intervention. 
That  it  is  not  incompatible  with  the  constitu- 
tion of  the  world,  is  an  unquestionable  fact 
with  the  unsophisticated  behevers  in  the  sacred 
records.  And  not  a  few  occurrences  in  later 
history  have  totally  defied  every  attempt  at 
explanation  in  any  other  way."* 

And  yet  sir  Gardiner  Wilkinson,  who  sub- 
sequently travelled  in  Egypt,  and  visited  the 
magician,  says  : — 

"  On  going  to  see  him,  I  was  determined  to 
examine  the  matter  with  minute  attention,  at 
the  same  time  that  I  divested  myself  of  every 
previous  bias,  either  for  or  against  his  pre- 
tended powers.  A  party  having  been  made  up  to 
witness  the  exhibition,  we  met,  according  to 
previous  agreement,  at  Mr.  Lewis's  house  on 
Wednesday  evening,  the  8th  of  December. 
The  magician  was  ushered  in,  and  having 
taken  his  place,  we  all  sat  down,  some  before 
him,  others  by  his  side.  The  party  consisted 
of  colonel  Barnet,  our  consul-general,  Mr. 
Lewis,  Dr.  Abbott,  Mr.  Samuel,  Mr.  Christian, 
M.  Prisse,  with  another  French  gentleman,  and 
myself,  four  of  whom  understood  Arabic  ver}-- 
well ;  so  that  we  had  no  need  of  any  interpreter. 
The  magician,  after  entering  into  conversation 
with  many  of  us  on  different  subjects,  and  dis- 
cussing two  or  three  pipes,  prepared  for  the 
performance.     He  first  of  all  requested  that  a 

*  Foster's  Contributions  to  the  Eclectic   Review,  vol.  i. 
p.  545. 


ABD-EL-KADER. 


2^ 


brazier  of  live  charcoal  should  be  brought  him, 
and,  in  the  mean  while,  occupied  himself  in 
writing  upon  a  long  slip  of  paper  five  sentences 
of  two  lines  each,  then  two  others,  one  of  a 
single  line,  and  the  other  of  two,  as  an  invoca- 
tion to  the  Sjjirits.  Every  sentence  began  with 
*  Tuyurshoon.'  Each  was  separated  from  the 
one  above  and  below  it  by  a  line,  to  direct  him 
in  tearing  them  apart.  A  boy  was  then  called, 
who  was  ordered  to  sit  down  before  the  magi- 
cian, lie  did  so,  and  the  magician  having 
asked  for  some  ink  from  Mr.  Lewis,  traced 
■with  a  pen  on  the  palm  of  his  right  hand  a 
double  square,  containing  the  nine  numbers  in 
this  order,  or  in  English — making  fifteen  each 
way;  the  centre  one  being  five — the  evil  num- 
ber. This  I  remarked  to  the  magician,  but 
he  made  no  reply.  A  brazier  was  brought 
and  placed  between  the  niMgician  and  the  boy, 
who  was  ordered  to  look  stedfastly  into  the  ink, 
and  report  what  he  should  see.  I  begged  the 
magician  to  speak  slowly  en<nigh  to  give  me 
time  to  write  down  every  word,  which  he  pro- 
mised to  do,  without  being  displeased  at  the 
request ;  nor  had  he  objected,  during  the  pre- 
liminary part  of  the  performance,  to  my 
attempt  to  sketch  him  as  he  sat.  He  now 
began  an  incantation,  calling  on  the  spirits  by 
the  power  of  '  our  lord  Soolayman,'  with  the 
words  '  tuyurshoon'  and  '  haderoo'  (be  present) 
frequently  repeated. 

"  He   then    muttered  words  to  himself,  and 
tearing  apart  the   different  sentences  he  had 


24  MAGIC, 

written,  lie  put  them,  one  after  another,  into 
the  fire,  together  with  some  frankincense.  This 
done,  he  asked  the  boy  if  any  one  had  come. 
Boy.  '  Yes,  many.'  —  Magician.  '  Tell  them 
to  sweep.'  —  B.  'Sweep.'  —  M.  'Tell  them  to 
bring  the  flags.' — B.  'Bring  the  flags.'  — 
M.  '  Have  they  brought  any  ?' — B.  '  Yes.' — 
M.  'O-  what  colour?'  —  ^.  '  Green.'  — i5^. 
'  Say,  Bring  another.' — B.  '  Bring  another.' — 
M.  '  Has  it  come  ?' — B.  '  Yes,  a  green 
one.'  —  M.  '  Another.'  —  B.  '  Another.'  — 
M.  '  Is  it  brought  ?  ~B.  '  Yes,  another 
green  one  —  they  are  all  green.'  This  boy 
was  then  sent  away,  and  another  was  brought, 
who  had  never  before  seen  the  magician,  having 
been  chosen  with  another,  by  Mr.  Lewis,  on 
purpose  ;  but  after  many  incantations,  incense, 
and  long  delay,  he  could  see  nothing,  and  fell 
asleep  over  the  ink.  The  other  boy  was  then 
called  in,  but  he,  like  the  other,  could  not  be 
made  to  see  anything ;  and  a  fourth  waa 
brought  in,  who  had  evidently  acted  his  part 
before.  He  first  saw  a  shadow,  and  was  or- 
dered to  'tell  him  to  sleep;'  and,  after  the 
flags  and  the  sultan  as  usual,  some  one  sug- 
gested that  lord  Fitzroy  Somerset  should  be 
called  for.  He  was  described  in  a  white  Frank 
dress,  a  long,  high,  white  hat,  black  stockings^ 
and  white  gloves,  tall,  and  standing  before  him 
with  black  boots.  I  asked  how  he  could  see  his 
stockings  with  boots  ?  The  boy  answered^ 
Under  his  trowsers.'  He  continued,  '  His 
eyes  are  white,  moustaches,  no  beard,  but  little 


ABD-EL-KADER.  2$ 

whiskers,  and  yellow  or  light  hair  ;  he  is  thin, 
thin  legs,  thin  arras  ;  in  his  left  hand  he  holds 
a  stick,  and  in  the  other  a  pipe;  he  has  a  black 
handkerchief  round  his  neck,  his  throat  but- 
toned up,  his  trowsers  are  long,  he  wears  green 
spectacles.'  The  magician,  seeing  some  of  the 
party  smiling  at  the  description  and  its  inac- 
curacies, said  to  the  boy,  '  Don't  tell  lies,  boy.' 
To  which  he  answered,  '  I  do  not ;  why 
should  I  ?—M.  '  Tell  him  to  go.'—B.  '  Go.' 
Queen  Victoria  was  next  called  for,  who  was 
described  as  short,  dressed  in  black  trowsers, 
a  white  hat,  black  shoes,  white  gloves,  red  cOat, 
with  lining,  and  bk'ick  waistcoat,  with  whiskers, 
but  no  beard  nor  moustaches,  and  holding  in 
his  hand  a  glass  tumbler.  He  was  asked  if 
the  person  Avere  a  man  or  a  woman  ?  He 
answered,  *  A  man.'  We  told  the  magician 
that  it  was  our  queen !  He  said,  '  I  do  not 
know  why  they  should  say  what  is  false ;  I 
knew  she  was  a  woman,  but  the  boys  describe 
as  they  see.' 

"  From  the  manner  in  which  the  questions 
were  put,  it  is  very  evident  that,  when  a  boy  is 
persuaded  to  see  anything,  the  appearances  of 
the  sweeper,  the  flags,  and  the  sultan,  are  the 
result  of  leading  questions.  The  boy  pretends 
or  imagines  he  sees  a  man  or  a  shadow,  and  he 
is  told  to  order  some  one  to  sweep  :  he  is  there- 
fore prepared  with  his  answer ;  and  the  same 
continues  to  the  end,  the  magician  always  tell- 
ing him  what  he  is  to  call  for,  and  consequently 
what  he  is  to  see.     The  descriptions  of  persons 


L 


^6  MAGIC. 

asked  for  are  almost  universally  complete 
failures." 

After  these  and  other  details,  sir  Gardiner 
says,  "  I  am  decidedly  of  opinion  that  the  whole 
of  the  first  part  is  done  solely  by  leading  ques- 
tions, and  that  whenever  the  descriptions  succeed 
in  any  point,  the  success  is  owing  to  accident, 
or  to  unintentional  prompting  in  the  mode  of 
questioning  the  boys."  * 

A  subsequent  traveller,  lord  Nugent,  places 
the  state  of  the  case  in  a  new  light : — 

"  It  is  enough  to  say,  that  not  one  person 
whom  Abd-el-Kader  described  bore  the  small- 
est resemblance  to  the  one  named  by  us  ;  and 
all  those  called  for  were  of  remarkable  appear- 
ance. All  the  preparations,  all  the  ceremony, 
and  all  the  attempts  at  description,  bore  evi- 
dences of  such  a  coarse  and  stupid  fraud,  as 
would  render  any  detail  of  the  proceeding,  or 
any  argument  tending  to  connect  it  with  any 
marvellous  power,  ingenious  art,  or  interesting 
inquiry,  a  mere  childish  waste  of  time.  How, 
then,  does  it  happen,  that  respectable  and 
sensitive  minds  have  been  staggered  by  the 
exhibitions  of  this  impostor  ?  I  think  that  the 
solution  which  Mr.  Lane  himself  suggested  as 
probable  is  quite  complete.  When  the  exhi- 
bition was  over,  Mr.  Lane  had  some  conversa- 
tion with  the  magician,  which  he  afterwards 
repeated  to  us.  In  reply  to  an  observation  of 
Mr.  Lane's  to  him  upon  his  entire  failure,  the 
magician  admitted  that  *  he  had  often  failed 
*  Wilkinson's  Modern  Egypt,  vol.  i.  pp.  218—223. 


ABD-EL-KADER.  27 

since  the  death  of  Osman  Effendi ;' — the  same 
Osman  Effendi  that  Mr.  Lane  mentions  in  his 
book  as  having  been  of  the  party  on  every 
occasion  on  which  he  had  been  witness  ot 
the  magician's  art,  and  whose  testimony  the 
Quarterly  Review  cites  in  support  of  the 
marvel,  which  (searching  much  too  deep  for 
what  lies  very  near,  indeed,  to  the  surface,)  it 
endeavours  to  solve  by  suggesting  the  proba- 
bility of  diverse  complicated  optical  combina- 
tions. 

*'  And,  be  it  again  observed,  optical  combi- 
nations cannot  throw  one  ray  of  light  upon  the 
main  difficulty,  the  means  of  procuring  the 
resemblance  required  of  the  absent  person.  I 
now  give  Mr.  Lane's  solution  of  the  whole 
mystery,  in  his  own  words,  my  note  of  which 
I  submitted  to  him,  and  obtained  his  ready 
permission  to  make  public  in  any  way  I  might 
see  fit.  This  Osman  Effendi,  Mr.  Lane  told  me, 
was  a  Scotchman,  formerly  serving  in  a  British 
regiment,  who  was  taken  prisoner  by  the 
Egyptian  army  during  our  unfortunate  expe- 
dition to  Alexandria,  in  1807;  that  he  was 
sold  as  a  slave,  and  persuaded  to  abjure  Chris- 
tianity, and  profess  the  Mussulman  faith ;  that, 
applying  his  talents  to  his  necessities,  he  made 
himself  useful  by  dint  of  some  little  medical 
knowledge  he  had  picked  up  on  duty  in  the 
regimental  hospital;  that  he  obtained  his  liberty 
at  the  instance  of  the  Sheik  Ibraim,  (M.  Burck- 
hardt,)  through  the  means  of  Mr.  Salt;  that,  in 
process  of  time,  he  became  second  interpreter 


S8"  MAGIC. 

of  the  British  consulate;  that  Osman  was,  very 
probably,  acquainted,  by  portraits  or  otherwise, 
with  the  general  appearance  of  most  Englishmen 
of  celebrity,  and  certainly  could  describe  the 
peculiar  dresses  of  English  professions,  such  as 
army,  navy,  church,  and  the  ordinary  habits  of 
persons  of  different  professions  in  England; 
■that,  on  all  occasions  when  Mr.  Lane  was 
witness  of  the  magician's  success,  Osman  had 
been  present  at  the  previous  occasions,  had 
heard  who  should  be  called  to  appear,  and  so 
had,  probably,  obtained  a  description  of  the 
figure,  when  it  was  to  be  the  apparition  of 
some  private  friend  of  persons  present ;  that,  on 
these  occasions,  he  very  probably  had  some 
pre-arranged  code  of  words,  by  which  he  could 
communicate  secretly  with  the  magician.  To 
this  it  must  be  added,  that  his  avowed  theory 
of  morals  was,  on  all  occasions,  that  '  we  did 
our  whole  duty  if  we  did  what  we  thought 
best  for  our  fellow-creatures  and  most  agreeable 
to  them.'  Osman  was  present  when  Mr.  Lane 
was  so  astonished  at  hearing  the  boy  describe 
very  accurately,  the  person  of  M.  Burckhardt, 
with  whom  the  magician  was  unacquainted, 
but  who  had  been  Osman's  patron,  and  who, 
also,  knew  well  the  other  gentleman  whom  Mr. 
Lane  states  in  his  book  that  the  boy  described 
as  appearing  ill  and  lying  on  a  sofa,  and  Mr. 
Lane  added  that  he  had,  probably^  been  asked 
by  Osman  about  that  gentleman's  health,  whom 
Mr.  Lane  then  knew  to  be  suffering  under  an 
attack  of  rheumatism.     He  concluded,  there" 


r 


THE  MAGICflAN  OF  CAIRO.  29 

fore,  by  avowing  that  there  was  no  doubt  in 
his  mind,  connecting  all  these  circumstances 
with  the  declaration  the  magician  had  just 
made,  that  Osman  had  been  the  confederate. 
Thus  I  have  given  in  Mr.  Lane's  words,  not 
only  with  his  consent,  but  at  his  ready  offer, 
what  he  has  no  doubt  is  the  explanation  of  the 
whole  of  the  subject  which  he  now  feels  to 
require  no  deeper  inquiry;  and  which  has  been 
adopted  by  many  as  a  marvel  upon  an  ex- 
aggerated view  of  the  testimony  that  he  offered 
in  his  book  before  he  had  been  convinced,  as 
he  now  is,  of  the  imposture.  I  gladly  state 
this,  on  the  authority  of  an  enlightened  and 
honourable  man,  to  disabuse  minds  that  have 
wandered  into  serious  speculation  on  a  matter 
which  I  cannot  but  feel  to  be  quite  undeserving 
of  it,"* — So  true  is  it,  that,  while  many  effects, 
which  appear  mysterious  to  the  multitude, 
may  be  explained  by  those  of  greater  know- 
ledge, others,  which,  for  a  time,  defy  penetra- 
tion, are,  at  length,  clearly  exhibited  in  their 
true  light.  It  becomes  us,  therefore,  carefully 
to  examine  testimony,  to  receive  that  only 
which  will  bear  scrutiny,  and  to  suspend  our 
judgment  whenever  we  are  unacquainted  with 
the  whole  case.  The  best  of  men  are  prone  to 
err;  and  well  is  it,  if,  ceasing  from  them,  we 
have  been  led  by  Divine  grace  to  trust  im- 
plicitly in  the  God  of  truth. 

*  Lord  Nugent's  "  Lands  Classical  and  Sacred." 
3* 


CHAPTER    III. 

Machines  considered  magical  in  ancient  times— Remarkable 
modern  automata— Minute  engines — The  calculating  ma- 
chine. 

The  light  of  modern  science  has  revealed  to  us 
many  important  secrets.  In  the  dark  ages 
there  were  but  few  books;  it  was  then  the 
fashion  to  write  them  in  Latin ;  and  as,  from 
their  costliness,  they  could  only  be  obtained 
by  men  of  wealth,  so  they  could  be  understood 
alone  by  such  as  had  enjoyed  the  advan- 
tages of  education.  Science  is  now  easily 
accessible,  but,  though  it  is  not  necessary  for 
us  all  to  become  philosophers,  there  is  no  good 
reason  why  people  generally  should  not  be 
acquainted  with  some  of  the  most  remarkable 
phenomena  of  the  natural  world.  The  inspired 
psalmist  has  said,  "  The  works  of  the  Lord  are 
great,  sought  out  of  all  them  that  have  pleasure 
therein;"  and  it  becomes  all,  according  to  their 
means  and  opportunities,  to  lay  this  truth  to 
heart.  We  proceed  now  to  consider  some 
effects  regarded  as  magical,  which  are  satisfac- 
torily explained  on  natural  principles,  beginning 
with  mechanics. 
30 


MAGICAL  MACHINES.  31 

An  ability  to  construct  wonderful  or  magical 
machines  was  manifest  among  the  ancients. 
Archytas,  a  native  of  Tarentum,  in  Italy,  who 
lived  four  hundred  years  before  the  birth  of 
our  Lord  and  Saviour,  is  said  to  have  made  a 
wooden  dove,  which  flew  and  sustained  itself 
for  some  time  in  the  air.  Other  clever  contriv- 
ances are  also  mentioned.  "  A  magician,"  says 
D'Israeli,  "was  annoyed,  as  philosophers  still 
are,  by  passengers  in  the  street;  and  he,  parti- 
cularly so,  by  having  horses  led  to  drink  under 
his  window.  He  made  a  magical  horse  of  wood, 
according  to  one  of  the  books  of  Hermes, 
which  perfectly  answered  his  purpose,  by 
frightening  away  the  horses,  or,  rather,  the 
grooms  !  The  wooden  horse,  no  doubt,  gave 
some  palpable  kick." 

It  is  worthy  of  remark,  that  tales  of  ancient 
times  must  be  received  with  caution.  We 
find  it  necessary,  even  at  a  much  later  period. 
The  tricks  which  now  amuse  or  astonish  the 
populace  at  a  country  fair,  would  be  greatly 
exaggerated  in  a  credulous  age,  and  often 
assume  even  the  most  portentous  colouring. 
Isor  is  it  difficult  to  guess,  and  sometimes  to 
discover,  the  stages  of  similar  and  great  mysti- 
fications. The  following  instance  is  rather  re- 
markable. On  Charles  v.  entering  Nuremberg, 
a  celebrated  German  astronomer,  whose  real 
name  was  Johann  Miiller,  but  Avho  styled  him- 
self Regiomontanus,  exhibited  some  automata 
which  he  had  constructed.  These  were  an 
eagle  of  wood,  which,  placed  on  the  gate  of  the 


32  MECHANICS. 

city,  rose  up  and  flapped  its  wings,  while  the 
emperor  was  passing  below;  and  a  fly,  made  of 
steel,  which  walked  round  a  table.  Now  all 
this  is  sufficiently  credible.  But  what  is  the 
record  of  the  chroniclers  only  a  few  years  after? 
That  the  wooden  eagle  sprang  from  the  tower 
and  soared  in  the  air;  and  that  the  steel  fly 
flew  three  times  round  the  emperor,  and  then 
alighted  buzzing  on  his  hand  ! 

In  many  instances,  the  mechanism  of  modem 
times  is  surprisingly  minute.  A  watchmaker 
in  London  presented  his  majesty  George  m. 
with  a  repeating  watch  he  had  constructed,  set 
in  a  ring.  Its  size  was  something  less  than  a 
silver  two-pence ;  it  contained  one  hundred-and- 
twenty-five  different  parts,  and  weighed,  alto- 
gether, no  more  than  five  pennyweights  and 
seven  grains ! 

In  an  exhibition  of  Maillardet,  which  the 
writer  has  seen,  the  lid  of  a  box  suddenly  flew 
open,  and  a  small  bird  of  beautiful  plumage 
started  forth  from  its  nest.  The  wings  fluttered, 
and  the  bill  opening  with  the  tremulous  motion 
peculiar  to  singing  birds,  it  began  to  warble. 
After  a  succession  of  notes,  whose  sound  well 
filled  a  large  apartment,  it  retired  to  its  nest, 
and  the  lid  closed.  Its  performances  occupied 
about  four  minutes.  In  the  same  exhibition 
were  an  automatic  spider,  a  caterpillar,  a  mouse, 
and  a  serpent;  all  of  which  exhibited  the  pecu- 
liar movements  of  the  living  creatures.  The 
spider  was  made  of  steel:  it  ran  on  the  surface 
of  a  table  for  three  minutes,  and  its  course 


MINUTE  ENGINES.  38 

tended  towards  the  middle  of  the  table.  The 
serpent  crawled  about  in  every  direction, 
opened  its  mouth,  hissed,  and  darted  forth  its 
tongue. 

Several  years  ago,  a  watchmaker,  residing 
in  a  town  in  Avhich  the  writer  lived,  made  a 
working  model  of  a  steam-engine,  the  packing- 
case  of  which  was  a  walnut-shell.  On  showing 
it  one  day  to  a  gentleman,  the  machine  was 
suddenly  stopped,  the  mechanic  remarking, 
"  There  is  something  wrong  in  one  of  the  safety- 
valves."  "  Safety-valve !"  exclaimed  the  ob- 
server; "  I  have  not  yet  been  able  to  detect  the 
fly-wheel!" 

The  most  curious  specimen  of  minute  work- 
manship, however,  with  which  we  are  ac- 
quainted, is  a  high-pressure  engine,  the  work 
of  a  watchmaker  having  a  stand  at  the 
Polytechnic  Institution,  and  first  exhibited  in 
1845.  Each  part  was  made  according  to  scale, 
it  worked  by  atmospheric  pressure,  in  lieu  of 
■steam,  with  the  greatest  activity,  yet  it  Avas  so 
small,  that  it  stood  on  a  fourpenny-piece,  Avith 
ground  to  spare,  and,  with  the  exception  of  the 
fly-wheel,  it  might  be  covered  with  a  thimble. 

D'Alembert  describes  a  flute-player,  con- 
structed by  Vaucanson,  which  he  saw  exhibited 
at  Paris  in  1738.  The  writer  has  also  seen 
one,  in  which  a  figure  appeared  seated,  and  then 
rose  and  played  a  tune,  the  motions  of  the 
fingers  seeming  to  accord  with  the  notes.  He 
cannot  answer  for  the  music  having  been  pro- 
duced by  the  movements  of  the  hands  of  tl\e 


34  MECHANICS. 

automaton.  D'Alembert  affirms,  however,  that 
the  automaton  of  Vaucanson  really  projected 
the  air  with  its  lips  against  the  embouchure  of 
the  instrument,  producing  the  different  octaves 
by  expanding  and  contracting  their  openings, 
giving  more  or  less  air,  and  regulating  the 
tones  by  its  fingers,  in  the  manner  of  living 
performers.  The  height  of  the  figure,  with  the 
pedestal,  containing  some  of  the  machinery,  was 
nearly  six  feet;  it  commanded  three  octaves, 
several  notes  of  which  musicians  find  it  difficult 
to  produce.  Some  years  ago,  two  automaton 
flute-players  were  exhibited  in  this  country,  of 
the  size  of  life,  which  performed  ten  or  twelve 
duets.  That  they  actually  played  the  flute 
might  be  proved,  by  placing  the  finger  on  any 
hole  that  was  unstopped  for  a  moment  by  the 
automata. 

M.  Vaucanson  produced  a  flageolet-player, 
who  beat  a  tambourine  with  one  hand.  The 
flageolet  had  only  three  holes,  and  some  notes 
were  made  by  half-stopping  these.  The  lowest 
note  was  produced  by  a  force  of  wind  equal  to 
an  ounce,  the  highest  by  one  of  fifty-six  French 
pounds.  A  duck  was,  however,  considered  to 
be  his  chef-d'oeuvre;  it  dabbled  in  the  mire, 
swam,  drank,  quacked,  raised  and  moved  its 
wings,  and  dressed  its  feathers  with  its  bill;  it 
even  extended  its  neck,  took  barley  from  the 
hand  and  swallowed  it,  during  which  process 
the  muscles  of  the  neck  were  seen  in  motion, 
and  it  also  digested  the  food  by  means  of 
materials    provided    for    its    solution    in  the 


AUTOMATA.  35 

stomach.  The  inventor  made  no  secret  of  the 
machinery,  which  excited,  at  the  time,  great 
admiration, 

]\Iaelzel,  the  inventor  of  the  metronome,  or 
time- measurer,    frequently  used  to   aid   pupils 
in  music,  exhibited  in  Vienna  in  1809,  another 
automaton  of  sinj^ular  power;  which  appeared 
in  the  uniform  of  a  trumpeter  in  the  Austrian 
dragoon  regiment  Albert,  with  his  instrument 
placed   to  his   mouth.     When   the   figure  was 
press«l  on  the  left  shoulder,  it  played  not  only 
the  Austrian  cavalry  march,  and  all  the  signals 
of  that  army,  but  also  a  march  and  allegro  by 
Weigl,  which  was  accompanied  by  the  whole 
orchestra.     The  dress  of  the   figure  was  then 
changed  into  that  of  a  French  trumpeter  of  the 
guards,  when  it  began  to  play  a  French  cavalry 
march,  all  the  signals,  the  march  of  Dussek, 
and    an  allegro  of  Pleyel,  accompanied  again 
by  the  full  orchestra.     Maelzel  publicly  wound 
■up  his  instrument  only  twice  on  the  left  hip. 
The  sound   of  the  trumpet  was  pure  and  pe- 
culiarly agreeable. 

About  thirty  years  ago,  Maillardet  exhibited, 
in  Spring  Gardens,  a  variety  of  automata, 
which  the  writer  had  an  opportunity  of  seeing 
at  a  later  period.  One  was  the  figure  of  a  boy, 
who  wrote  sentences,  and  drew  certain  objects 
with  remarkable  promptitude  and  correctness. 
Another  was  a  pianiste,  seated  at  a  piano-forte, 
on  which  she  played  eighteen  tunes.  All  her 
movements  were  graceful.  Before  beginning  a 
tune,  she  made  a  gentle  inclination  of  the  head 


36  MECHANICS. 

to  lier  auditors;  her  bosom  heaved,  and  her 
eyes  followed  the  motion  of  her  fingers  over 
the  finger-board.  When  the  automaton  was 
once  wound  up,  it  would  continue  playing  for 
an  hour;  and  the  principal  part  of  the  ma- 
chinery employed  was  freely  exposed  to  public 
view.  It  has  been  doubted  whether  the  music 
was  actually  produced  by  the  automaton :  since 
the  time  now  referred  to,  the  writer  has  ex- 
amined another,  in  which  the  keys  of  the  in- 
strument were  certainly  acted  upon  by  the 
touch. 

He  has  also  seen,  at  various  times,  several 
very  curiously  constructed  automata :  the  figure 
of  a  lady,  who  could  walk  along  a  level  sur- 
face, throwing  out  the  limbs,  and  moving 
the  head  from  side  to  side  ;  a  tippler,  who 
could  pour  out  wine  from  a  decanter  into  a 
glass,  open  his  mouth,  and  swallow  the  fluid, 
and  thus  proceed  till  the  bottle  was  drained  ; 
and  a  performer  on  the  slack  rope,  whose  ex- 
ceedingly rapid  movements  of  the  body,  the 
arms,  and  the  head,  all  consistent  and  graceful, 
were  truly  amazing. 

A  very  beautiful  automaton  was  exhibited, 
a  few  years  ago,  in  Paris,  and  subsequently  in 
London.  It  appeared  in  a  court  suit,  sitting 
at  a  table,  in  the  attitude  of  writing.  Several 
questions,  inscribed  on  tablets,  were  placed  on 
the  table  on  which  the  whole  apparatus  stood, 
and  visitors  might  select  any  one  or  more  at 
pleasure.  The  tablet,  containing  a  question,  on 
being  handed  to  the  attendant,  was  placed  in 


AUTOMATA.  37 

a  drawer,  and,  as  soon  as  it  was  closed,  the 
figure  traced  on  paper  an  appropriate  reply. 
On  the  question  being  given,  "  Wlio  may  be 
volatile  without  a  crime  ?"  the  answer  was, 
"A  butterfly."  And  as  the  figure  could  draw 
a  response  as  well  as  write  it,  when  the  ques- 
tion was  put,  "What  is  the  symbol  of  fidelity  ?" 
it  drew,  in  outline,  the  form  of  a  greyhound. 
In  the  same  way  it  proceeded  throughout  the 
series  of  questions. 

In  some  instances,  the  effect  of  automata  is 
increased  by  the  exhibiter  proposing  certain 
questions,  and  receiving  responses  from  the 
figure — as  shaking  the  head,  to  denote  a  nega- 
tive; or  nodding,  to  indicate  assent.  It  is 
evident  that  here  the  inquiries  or  remarks  are 
thrown  in  to  accord  with  the  motions  that  the 
figure  is  contrived  to  make.  When,  however, 
a  performer,  as  one  has  recently  done,  puts  a 
whistle  in  the  mouth  of  an  automaton,  and 
then,  sitting  down  by  its  side,  plays  a  tune  on 
a  guitar,  desiring  the  figure  to  accompany  him ; 
the  hasty  sounds  with  which  the  figure  seems 
inclined  to  begin,  the  irregularity  with  which 
it  proceeds,  and  the  long  and  loud  closing  note, 
may  all  be  easily  supplied  by  some  confederate. 
Surprising  as  are  the  effects  produced  by  many 
automata,  it  would  be  wrong  to  infer  that  their 
only  results  are  the  wonder  of  the  multitude, 
or  gain  or  apphiuse  to  their  inventors.  "  They 
gave  rise,"  as  sir  David  Brewster  has  re- 
marked, "  to  the  most  ingenious  mechanical 
devices,  and  introduced,  among  the  higher 
4 


88  MECHANICS. 

order  of  artists,  habits  of  nice  and  accurate 
execution  in  the  formation  of  the  most  delicate 
pieces  of  machinery."  Those  combinations  of 
wheels  and  pinions,  which  almost  eluded  ob- 
servation, "  reappeared  in  the  stupendous 
mechanism  of  our  spinning-machines  and  our 
steam-engines.  The  elements  of  the  tumbling 
puppet  were  revived  in  the  chronometer,  which 
now  conducts  our  navy  through  the  ocean; 
and  the  shapeless  wheel  which  directed  the 
hand  of  the  drawing  automaton  (of  Maillardet,) 
has  served,  in  the  present  age,  to  guide  the 
movements  of  the  tambouring-engine.  Those 
mechanical  wonders,  which  in  one  century 
enriched  only  the  conjurer  who  used  them, 
contributed  in  another  to  augment  the  wealth 
of  the  nation ;  and  those  automatic  toys  which 
once  amused  the  vulgar,  are  now  employed  in 
extending  the  power,  and  promoting  the  civili- 
sation of  our  species.  In  whatever  way,  in- 
deed, the  power  of  genius  may  invent  or  com- 
bine, and  to  whatever  bad  or  even  ludicrous 
purposes  that  invention  or  combination  may 
be  originally  applied,  society  receives  a  gift 
which  it  can  never  lose;  and  though  the  value 
of  the  seed  may  not  at  once  be  recognised, 
though  it  may  lie  long  unproductive  in  the  un- 
genial  soil  of  human  knowledge,  it  will,  some 
time  or  other,  evolve  its  germ,  and  yield  to 
mankind  its  natural  and  abundant  harvest."* 

A  singular  fact  is  connected  with  the  early 
history  of  the  Astronomical  Society  of  London. 
*  Natural  Magic,  p.  286. 


CALCULATING  MACHINE.  39 

A  valuable  set  of  tables,  for  reducing  the  ob- 
served to  the  true  places  of  stars,  was  in  course 
of  preparation,  at  the  expense  of  the  society,  in- 
cluding above  three  thousand  stars,  and  compre- 
hending all  known  to  those  of  the  fifth  magni- 
tude, inclusive,  and  all  the  most  useful  of  the  sixth 
and  seventh.  An  incident  which  now  occurred, 
gave  rise  to  one  of  the  most  extraordinary  of 
modern  inventions.  To  insure  accuracy  in  the 
calculation  of  certain  tables,  separate  computers 
had  been  employed;  and  two  members  of  the 
society  having  been  chosen  to  compare  the  re- 
sults, detected  so  many  errors,  as  to  induce  one 
of  them  to  express  his  regret  that  the  work 
could  not  be  executed  by  a  machine.  For  this, 
the  other  member,  Mr.  Babbage,  at  once  re- 
plied, that  "  this  was  possible ;"  and,  persevering 
in  the  inquiry  which  had  thus  suggested  itself, 
he  produced  a  machine  for  calculating  tables 
"with  surprising  accuracy. 

The  calculating  part  of  the  machinery  oc- 
cupies a  space  of  about  ten  feet  broad,  ten  feet 
high,  and  five  feet  deep.  It  consists  of  seven 
steel  axes,  erected  over  one  another,  each  of 
them  carrying  eighteen  Avheels,  five  inches  in 
diameter,  having  on  them  small  barrels,  and  in- 
scribed with  the  symbols  0, 1 ,  to  9.  The  machine 
calculates  to  eighteen  decimal  places,  true  to 
the  last  figure ;  but,  by  subsidiary  contrivances, 
it  is  possible  to  calculate  to  thirty  decimal 
places.  Mr.  Babbage  has  since  contrived  a 
machine,  much  more  simple  in  its  construction, 
and  far  morejsxtensive  in  its  application. 


40  SIECHANICS. 

In  thus  enumerating  various  displays  of 
mechanical  genius,  we  are  reminded  that  the 
prophet  Isaiah,  after  describing  the  diverse 
labours  of  the  husbandman,  adds,  "  This  also 
Cometh  forth  from  the  Lord  of  hosts,  which 
is  wonderful  in  counsel,  and  excellent  in 
working."  In  all  the  evidence  we  have  of 
human  talent,  then,  let  us  acknowledge  that 
"  every  good  gift  and  every  perfect  gift  is  from 
above,  and  conieth  down  from  the  Father  of 
lights,  with  whom  is  no  variableness,  neither 
shadow  of  turning,"  Jas.  i.  17.  Would  that 
the  gifts  of  God  were  always  used  for  the 
Divine  glory !  f 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Terrestrial    phenomena— Footmarks  on  rocks— The   Logan 

itone— Sounds  in  stones— The  cave  of  St.  Paul— Atmo- 
spherical phenomena — Intermitting  springs — Waters  of 
magical  power. 

In  proceeding  to  illustrate  the  operation  of 
natural  laws,  we  may  look  now  at  some  of  the 
phenomena  connected  with  the  globe  we  in- 
habit, of  which,  where  little  knov»dedge  is  pos- 
sessed, erroneous  and  frequently  superstitious 
opinions  are  still  entertained. 

Marvellous  tales  are  often  told  of  rocks. 
There  is,  for  example,  a  tradition  of  a  noble- 
man being  engaged  in  the  chase,  or  pursued 
by  his  enemies,  without  being  hurt;  whose 
horse  left  the  prints  of  his  feet  on  a  mass  of 
stone,  over  which  he  passed.  But,  unhappily 
for  the  tale,  other  impressions  have  been  ob- 
served besides  those  of  the  horse's  feet;  and  it 
is  affirmed  by  various  naturalists,  deserving  of 
credit,  that  they  must  have  been  made  by  very 
different  animals,  at  a  remote  period,  before 
the  stone  had  completely  hardened.  Other 
instances  of  the  same  kind  might  easily  be 
given.  In  the  British  Museum,  there  is  a  slab 
liaving  similar  impressions,  obviously  produced 
4*  41 


42  TERRESTRIAL  PHENOMENA. 

by  the  same  means.  It  was  dug  from  a  great 
depth;  a  mass  of  stone,  many  feet  in  thickness. 
Laving  been  formed  above  the  layer  which  re- 
ceived, in  a  soft  state,  the  impression  from  the 
feet  of  several  animals. 

Other  impressions,  of  which  we  read  or  hear, 
are  nothing  more  than  tricks  of  art.  Such^ 
most  probably,  is  the  impression  of  the  foot  of 
Budda  vipon  the  Peak  of  Adam,  at  Ceylon;  the 
print  of  the  foot  of  the  idol  Gaudama,  in  the 
Burmese  empire,  which  has  been  three  times 
reproduced ;  and  most  certainly  this  is  the  case 
with  the  so-called  impressions  of  the  feet  of 
our  blessed  Lord  and  Saviour,  shown  to  the 
present  day,  on  Mount  Olivet. 

The  cave  of  St.  Paul,  at  Civita  Vecchia,  the 
former  capital  of  the  island  of  Malta,  is  an 
excavation,  about  nineteen  feet  in  height,  and 
fifty  in  circumference ;  in  a  soft,  white,  lime- 
stone rock,  more  friable  than  chalk.  A  belief 
that  the  stone  was  endowed  with  miraculous 
medical  virtues,  led  people  to  carry  away  large 
quantities  of  it  during  the  sway  of  the  knights. 
In  1770,  when  visited  by  Brydone,  the  cave 
was  in  the  highest  celebrity;  not  only  every 
house  in  the  island  had  a  medical  chest  of  it, 
but  large  quantities  were  sent  to  different 
countries  in  Europe,  and  even  to  the  East 
Indies.  It  was  supposed  to  have  a  miraculous 
power  which  preserved  it  from  diminution; 
which  may  be  accounted  for  by  a  natural  laAv — 
the  palcareous  process  of  formation  still  going 
on — while  its  healing  power  is  to  be  attributed 


THE  LOGAN  STONE.  43 

to  its  having  some  of  the  properties  of  mag- 
nesia; which  leads,  according  to  Dr.  Walsh,  to 
its  still  being  given  as  a  purgative-sudorific  in 
eruptive  or  fever  complaints. 

One  instance  of  gross  superstition,  as  con- 
nected -with  rocks,  is  too  important  to  be 
omitted.  The  trial  by  ordeal  appears  to  have 
been  very  early  practised  among  the  Celtic 
tribes  of  Europe,  who  were  always  under  the 
influence  of  an  artful  and  domineering  priest- 
hood. Thus,  it  is  said  that  in  cases  of  doubtful 
accusation  the  Druids  made  use  of  the  rocking- 
stones  which  were  common  in  Britain,  and  that 
the  culprit  was  acquitted  or  condenmed  accord- 
ing as  he  succeeded  or  failed  in  shaking  them. 
Mason  alludes  to  this  trial  in  the  following 
lines : — 

"  Behold  yon  huge 
And  unknoTVTi  sphere  of  living  adamant, 
Which,  poised  by  niiigic,  rests  its  central  weight 
On  yonder  pointed  rock  ;  firm  as  it  soems, 
Such  is  its  strange  and  virtuous  property, 
It  moves  obsequious  to  the  gentlest  touch 
Of  him  whose  heart  is  pure ;  but  to  a  traitor, 
Though  e'en  a  giant's  prowess  nerved  his  arm. 
It  stands  as  fixed  as  Snowdon." 

A  little  knowledge  would  have  disabused  the 
mind  of  this  delusion.  The  celebrated  Logan 
or  Logging-stone,  near  the  Land's  End  in 
Cornwall,  is  an  immense  block,  weighing  about 
sixty  tons.  The  surface  in  contact  with  the 
under  rock  is,  however,  of  very  small  extent; 
and  the  whole  mass  is  so  nicely  balanced,  that, 
notwithstanding  its  magnitude,  the  strength  of 
a  single  man  is  sufficient  to  make  it  oscillate, 


44 


TERRESTRIAL  PHENOMENA. 


■when  applied  to  the  under  edge.  It  is  the 
nature  of"  granite  to  disintegrate  or  decompose 
by  the  action  of  the  air  and  moisture;  a  huge 
mass  is  thus  split  into  several  blocks,  and  at 
length,  by  the  continued  operation  of  the 
elements,  one  is  suspended  on  the  rest. 


Sounds  emitted  from  rocks  have  often  been 
regarded  as  portentous.  Mr.  G.  Bennett,  when 
at  Macao,  had  his  attention  directed  to  a  mass 
of  granite  rocks,  appearing  as  if  separated  by 
some  convulsion  of  nature,  many  of  which 
were  found,  when  trodden  on,  to  be  movable. 
The  first,  and  by  far  the  most  sonorous,  was 


THE  MOUNTAIN  OF  THE  BELL.  45 

partially  excavated  underneath;  and,  by  strik- 
ing it  upon  the  upper  part,  a  deep  sound,  "like 
•  that  of  a  church  bell,"  was  produced.  "  The 
battered  appearance  of  the  stone  above,"  it  is 
said,  "  bore  several  proofs  of  how  many  visitors 
had  made  this  lion  roar."  Many  of  the  other 
rocks  were  also  sonorous,  but  not  so  loud  as  the 
first,  and,  from  their  situations,  "  they  were  mov- 
able when  trodden  on;  but  it  could  not  be  seen, 
whether,  like  the  preceding,  they  were  excavated, 
and,  in  consequence  of  being  so,  sonorous." 

In  the  chain  of  El-Heman,  and  not  far  from 
the  Red  Sea,  is  the  Jebal  Narkous,  or  "  IMoun- 
tain  of  the  Bell."  It  forms  one  of  a  ridge  of 
low  calcareous  hills,  which  are  connected  by  a 
sandy  plain,  extending,  with  a  gentle  rise,  to 
their  base.  It  is  composed  of  a  light- coloured 
friable  sandstone,  about  the  same  as  the  rest  of 
the  chain ;  but  an  inclined  plane  of  almost  im- 
palpable sand  rises  at  an  angle  of  about  forty 
degrees  with  the  horizon,  and  is  bounded  by  a 
semi-circle  of  rocks,  presenting  broken,  abrupt, 
and  pinnacled  forms,  and  extending  to  the  base 
of  this  remarkable  hill.  Its  height  is  about 
four  hundred  feet. 

Lieutenant  Wellsted  observed,  that  the  shape 
and  arrangement  of  the  rocks  resembled,  in 
some  respects,  a  whispering -gallery;  but  he 
ascertained,  by  experiment,  that  their  irregular 
surface  rendered  them  but  ill-adapted  for  the 
production  of  an  echo.  Seated  on  a  rock  at  the 
base  of  the  sloping  eminence,  he  directed  a 
Bedouin  to  ascend ;  and  it  was  not  till  he  had 


46  TERRESTRIAL  PHENOMENA. 

reached  some  distance  that  the  lieutenant  per- 
ceived the  sand  in  motion,  rolling  down  the  hill  to 
the  depth  of  a  foot.  It  did  not,  however,  descend 
in  one  continued  stream,  but,  as  the  Arab 
scrambled  upwards,  it  spread  out  laterally  and 
above,  until  a  considerable  portion  of  the  sur- 
face was  in  motion.  As  the  sand  began  to  fall, 
the  sounds  produced  might  be  compared  to  the 
faint  strains  of  an  Eolian  harp  when  its  strings 
first  catch  the  breeze.  When  the  sounds  be- 
came more  violently  agitated  by  the  increased 
velocity  of  the  descent,  the  noise  more  nearly 
resembled  that  produced  by  drawing  the  moist- 
ened fingers  over  glass.  As  it  reached  the  base, 
the  reverberations  attained  the  loudness  of 
distant  thunder,  causing  the  rock  on  which 
lieutenant  Wellsted  was  seated  to  vibrate; 
and  the  camels,  animals  not  easily  frightened, 
became  so  alarmed,  that  their  drivers  could 
only  retain  them  with  difficulty.  The  noise,  it 
was  remarked,  did  not  issue  from  every  part  of 
the  hill  alike,  the  loudest  being  produced  by 
disturbing  the  sand  on  the  northern  side,  about 
twenty  feet  from  the  base,  and  about  ten  from 
the  rocks  that  bound  it  in  that  direction.  The 
tradition  is,  that  the  bells  of  a  convent  were 
buried  here;  the  Bedouins  trace  the  sounds  to 
several  wild  and  fanciful  causes;  but,  in  the 
experiment  now  described,  it  was  evident  that 
the  sounds  sometimes  fell  quicker  on  the  ear, 
and  at  other  times  were  more  prolonged,  ac- 
cording to  the  Arab's  increasing  or  retarding 
the  velocity  of  his  descent. 


VIBRATIONS.  47 

Dr.  Chladni  made  many  curious  experi- 
ments on  the  figures  assumed  by  sand  and 
similar  substances,  when  strewed  over  vibrating 
sonorous  bodies.  The  reader  may  easily  try  an 
experiment  of  this  kind.  Let  a  s(|uare  piece  of 
glass  be  taken,  such  as  that  used  for  windows, 
not  less  than  four  or  five  inches  over,  the  edges 
of  which  are  to  be  smoothed  by  grinding.  Spread 
over  the  plate,  as  evenly  as  possible,  a  little 
sand,  and,  holding  it  between  the  thumb  and 
fore-finger,  in  the  middle,  pass  the  bow  of  a 
violin  against  one  of  its  edges,  drawing  it  either 
upwards  or  downwards,  in  a  direction  perpen- 
dicular to  its  surface.  A  tremulous  motion 
will  be  immediately  observed,  and  the  sand 
will  assume  some  particular  and  fixed  figure. 
If  the  boAv  be  passed  over  the  middle  of  one 
of  the  sides,  the  sand  will  arrange  itself  in  the 
direction  of  the  two  diagonals,  dividing  the 
square  into  four  isosceles  triangles.  If  the  bow 
be  applied  at  any  point  which  is  one-fourth  the 
length  of  the  square  from  any  angle,  the 
arrangement  of  the  sand  w^ill  represent  the  two 
diameters  of  the  square,  dividing  it  into  four 
equal  figures  of  the  same  form.  If  the  square 
be  held  at  the  two  extremities  of  either  dia- 
meter, and  the  bow  be  applied  to  the  extremities 
of  the  other  diameter,  the  sand  wdll  take  the 
figure  of  an  oval,  having  its  major  axis  in  the 
same  direction  as  one  of  the  diameters. 

Other  experiments  of  the  same  kind  have 
since  been  made  by  M.  Voigt,  and  also  by  the 
celebrated  Oersted.     The  latter  covered  a  plate 


4%  TERRESTRIAL  PHENOMENA. 

of  metal  or  glass  with  the  Ijcopodium  seed,  or 
the  seed  of  the  club-moss,  instead  of  sand  ; 
he  then  tried  to  produce  a  sound  in  the 
manner  of  Chladni,  and  instantly  he  saw  the 
dust  distribute  itself  into  a  number  of  little 
regular  tumuli,  which  put  themselves  in  motion 
ixt  their  extremities,  or  formed  the  figures  dis- 
covered by  this  naturalist.  They  always 
ranged  themselves  in  the  form  of  a  curve,  the 
convexity  of  Avhich  was  in  proportion  to  the 
point  touched  by  the  violin  bow,  or  towards 
the  point  which  has  an  analogous  situation; 
the  nearer  that  each  of  these  little  heaps  was 
to  these  points,  the  greater  was  its  height,  a  cir- 
cumstance which  gave  remarkable  regularity 
to  the  figure.  The  interior  of  the  small  eleva- 
tions thus  obtained,  were  in  constant  motion 
during  the  continuance  of  the  sound,  and  the 
duration  of  the  vibrations  might  be  observed 
on  a  plate  from  four  to  six  inches  in  diameter. 
At  one  moment  the  height  increased,  at  another 
it  diminished,  and  the  dust  had  the  appearance 
of  arranging  itself  in  small  globules,  which 
rolled  one  above  another. 

We  may  now  return  from  these  very  inter- 
esting facts,  to  others  on  a  fai*  larger  scale. 
Near  the  Kom-el-Hett'an,  or  the  mound  of 
sand-stone,  which  makes  the  site  of  one  of 
the  palaces  and  temples  of  Amunoph  iii.,  are 
two  sitting  colossi,  which  seem  to  assert  the 
grandeur  of  ancient  Thebes.  The  easternmost 
of  the  two  is  doubtless  the  statue  reported  by 
ancient  authors  to  utter  a  sound  at  the  rising 


COLOSSUS  AT  THEBES.  49 

of  the  sun.  It  was  said  to  resemble  the  break- 
ing of  a  metallic  ring,  or  harp-string.  The 
superstition  of  its  Roman  visitors  ascribed  the 
colossus  to  Memnon,  and  a  multitude  of  inscrip- 
tions attributed  to  him  miraculous  powers. 
The  memory  of  its  daily  performance  is  still 
retained  in  the  traditional  appellation  of  Sala- 
mat,  "  salutations,"  by  the  modern  inhabitants 
of  Thebes.  It  is  said  to  have  "  saluted"  the 
emperor  Adrian  and  his  queen  Sabina  twice  ; 
but  some  persons,  of  course  of  humble  rank, 
were  disappointed  on  their  first  visit,  and 
obliged  to  return  another  morning  to  satisfy 
their  curiosity. 

And  yet  there  is  ample  reason  to  believe  that 
the  whole  w^as  an  artifice  of  the  priests.  In 
the  lap  of  the  statue  is  a  stone  ;  and  as  sir 
Gardiner  Wilkinson  discovered,  on  examining 
the  inscriptions,  that  one  Ballilla  had  compared 
the  sound  the  stone  emitted,  when  struck,  to 
the  striking  of  brass,  he  determined  to  put  the 
matter  to  the  test.  Accordingly,  posting  some 
peasants  below,  and  ascending  to  the  lap  of  the 
statue,  he  struck  the  sonorous  block  with  a 
small  hammer,  and  inquiring  what  was  heard 
by  the  peasants,  they  answered,  "  You  are 
striking  brass."  "  This,"  says  sir  Gardiner, 
"  convinced  me  that  the  sound  was  the  sound 
that  deceived  the  Romans,  and  led  Strabo  to 
observe  that  it  appeared  to  him  as  the  effect  of 
a  slight  blow."  "  The  Theban  priests,"  he 
adds,  "  must  have  been  considerable  gainers  by 
the  credulity  of  those  who  visited  their  /ion." 
5 


50         TERRESTRnM^  PJSENOMENA. 

The  reader  who  may  fl^e  taken  the  delight- 
ful walk  from  Timbridge  Y/ells  to  the  High 
Rocks,  ancj.^ examined  particularly  those  huge 
masses,  will  not  fail  to  remember  the  one  called 
"the  Bell  Rock."  On  entering  the  space  between 
this  one  and  the  next,  it  may  be  struck  with  a 
stick,  when  a  sound  will  be  heard  like  that  pro- 
duced, on  a  large  metallic  body  being  smitten. 

In  the  road  cut  by  Napoleon  between  Savoy 
and  France,  and  about  two  miles  from  Les 
Echelles,  there  is  a  gallery  twenty-seven  feet 
high  and  broad,  and  nine  hundred  and  sixty 
feet  in  length,  formed  in  the  solid  rock.  When 
this  road  was  nearly  complete,  and  the  excava- 
tions commenced  at  each  end  almost  met,  the 
partition  was  broken  through  by  a  pick-axe, 
and  a  loud  and  deep  sound  was  heard.  We 
are  indebted  to  Mr.  Bakewell  for  the  following 
solution  of  this  phenomenon.  The  mountain 
rises  full  one  thousand  feet  above  the  passage, 
and  fifteen  hundred  above  the  valley.  The  air, 
on  the  eastern  side  of  the  mountain,  is  sheltered 
both  on  the  south  and  west  from  the  sun's 
rays;  and  consequently  must  be  much  colder 
than  on  the  western  side.  The  mountain, 
therefore,  formed  a  partition  between  the  hot 
air  of  the  valley,  and  the  cold  air  of  the  ravines 
on  the  eastern  side.  When  the  opening  was 
made,  the  cold,  and  therefore  denser  air,  rushed 
into  that  rarefied  by  heat,  and  a  loud  report 
was  produced,  in  the  same  manner  as  when  a 
bladder,  placed  over  an  exhausted  air-pump 
receiver,  is  burst. 


SUBTERRANEAN  SOUNDS.  51 

Baron  Humboldt ipfornis  us,  on  credible 
authority,  that  subterranean  sounds,  resembling 
the  tones  of  an  orfraii,  are  heard  on  the  banks 
of  the  Oroonoko.  He  supposes  that  they  arise 
from  a  difference  of  tenipeiature  between  the 
external  atmosphere  and  rhe  air  confined  in  the 
crevices  of  the  adjacent  granitic  rocks.  He 
concludes  that,  as  the  temperature  of  the  con- 
fined air  is  greatly  increased  during  the  day 
from  the  conduction  of  heat  by  the  rocks;  and 
as  the  difference  of  temperature  between  it  and 
the  atmosphere  will  reach  its  maximum  aliout 
sunrise,  the  sounds  are  produced  by  the  escap- 
ing current. 

The  following  illustrative  experiment  is  not 
a  little  curious  : — If  a  tube  formed  of  some 
elastic  and  sonorous  substance  be  taken,  and  a 
jet  of  inflamed  hydrogen  be  introduced,  a 
musical  sound  will  be  heard.  This  will  take 
place  in  a  tube  closed  at  one  end,  if  it  be  large 
enough  to  admit  a  sufficient  quantity  of  atmo- 
spheric air  to  support  the  combustion  of  the 
gas  ;  but  if  the  tube  be  open  at  both  extremi- 
ties, the  musical  sound  will  be  clear  and  full. 
Various  conclusions  have  been  arrived  at  in 
reference  to  this  phenomenon;  but  they  have 
been  set  aside  by  the  experiments  of  Mr.  Fara- 
day, who  attributes  the  sounds  produced  by 
flames  in  tubes  to  a  continual  series  of  detona- 
tions or  explosions. 

The  first  philosopher  who  exhibited  the 
longitudinal  vibration  of  solids  w^as  Dr.  Chladni. 
According   to   him,  the   best  method  of  pro- 


52  TERRESTRIAL  PHENOMENA. 

ducing  these  vibrations  in  rods,  is  by  rubbing 
them,  in  the  direction  of  their  lengtli,  with 
some  soft  substance,  covered  with  powdered 
resin,  or  by  the  finger.  When  ghiss  tubes  are 
employed,  they  should  be  rubbed  with  a  piece 
of  rag  spread  over  with  fine  sand,  the  tube 
being  held  by  one  of  the  ends. 

"  In  all  longitudinal  vibrations,"  says  the 
same  writer,  "  the  tones  depend  merely  on 
the  length  of  the  sonorous  body,  and  on  the 
quality  of  the  substance,  the  thickness  and 
form  being  of  no  consideration  ;  yet  the  tones 
are  not  varied  by  the  specific  gravity  of  the 
vibrating  substance  ;  for  fir-wood,  glass,  and 
iron,  give  almost  the  same  tone  as  brass,  oak, 
and  the  shanks  of  tobacco-pipes."  He  also 
mentions  several  kinds  of  longitudinal  vibra- 
tion ;  in  one,  to  use  his  own  words,  "  there  is  a 
certain  point  in  the  middle  at  which  the  vibra- 
tion of  each  half-stops  ;  in  the  next  there  are 
two,  each  at  the  distance  of  a  fourth  part  from 
the  end ;  and,  in  the  following,  there  are  three,  or 
more.  The  tones  correspond  with  the  natural 
series  of  the  numbers  1,  2,  3,  4,  etc.  If  a  rod 
be  fastened  at  one  end,  during  the  first  kind  of 
longitudinal  vibration,  the  alternate  expansion 
and  contraction  of  the  whole  rod  will  take  place 
in  such  a  manner,  that  they  stop  at  the  fixed 
end  ;  in  the  next  tone  there  is  a  resting-point 
at  the  distance  of  one-third  from  the  free  end  ; 
and  in  the  following  there  are  two.  The  tones 
correspond  with  the  numbers  1,  3,  5,  7,  and 
the  first  of  these  tones  is  an  octave  lower  thafi 


THE  EUPPIONE.  53 

the  first  tone  of  the  same  rod  Avhen  perfectly 
free." 

When  examining  the  nature  of  sonorous 
bodies,  Dr.  Chladni  imagined  the  possibility  of 
producing  musical  sounds  by  rubbing  glass 
tubes  longitadinally.  It,  however,  became  a 
difficult  question  to  determine  in  what  way  an 
instrument  of  this  kind  should  be  constructed. 
After  much  and  long-continued  unsuccessful 
thought,  he  returned  home  one  evening  ex- 
hausted with  walking,  and  he  had  scarcely 
closed  his  eyes  to  fall  asleep  in  his  chair,  when 
the  arrangement  he  had  so  long  been  seeking, 
occurred  to  his  mind.  He  soon  after  completed 
an  instrument,  which  in  every  respect  an- 
swered his  expectations. 

The  euphoue,  signifying  an  instrument  hav- 
ing a  pleasant  sound,  consists  of  forty-one  fixed 
and  parallel  cylinders  of  glass,  equal  in  length 
and  thickness.  In  its  external  appearance  it 
resembles  a  small  writing-desk,  which,  when 
opened,  presents  a  series  of  glass  tubes  about 
sixteen  inches  long,  and  the  thickness  of  a 
quill.  They  are  fixed  in  a  perpendicular 
sounding-board,  at  the  back  of  the  instrument. 
When  used,  the  tubes  are  Avetted  with  a 
sponge,  and  stroked  in  the  direction  of  their 
length  with  wet  fingers;  the  intensity  of  the 
tone  being  varied  by  greater  or  less  pressure. 

The   singular    phenomenon   of  sound   occa- 
sioned by  the  vibration  of  soft  iron,  produced 
by  a  galvanic  current,  was  recently  discovered 
by  Mr.  Sage,  and  has  been  since  verified  by 
5* 


54  TERRESTRIAL  PHENOMENA. 

the  observations  of  a  French  philosopher,  M.- 
Marian. The  experiments  were  made  on  a  bar. 
of  iron,  which  was  fixed  at  the  middle,  in  a 
horizontal  position,  each  half  being  inclosed  in 
a  large  glass  tube.  By  appropriate  arrange- 
ments, the  galvanic  circle  was  completed  ;  and 
the  longitudinal  sound  could  be  distinguished, 
although  it  was  feeble.  The  origin  of  the 
sound  has  therefore  been  ascribed  to  a  vi- 
bration in  the  interior  of  the  iron  bar;  and  to 
the  same  cause  are  probably  attributable  many 
phenomena. 

We  now  pass  on  to  the  violent  agitation  of 
the  air,  which  is  often  productive  of  surprising 
results.  A  quantity  of  feathers,  for  example, 
was  scattered  one  day  over  the  market-place  of 
Yarmouth,  to  the  great  astonishment  of  a  large 
number  of  persons  assembled  there.  But  what 
"was  the  cause  ?  The  timid  considered  that  the 
phenomenon  predicted  some  great  calamity; 
the  inquisitive  indulged  in  a  thousand  conjec- 
tures ;  and  the  curious  in  natural  history  sagely 
accounted  for  it  by  a  gale  of  wdnd  in  the  north, 
blowing  wild-fowl  feathers  from  the  island  of 
St.  Paul's !  Yet,  not  one  of  them  was  right. 
No  guess  would  explain  the  cause,  and  yet  it 
arose  from  the  prank  of  a  frolicsome  boy. 
Astley,  afterwards  well  known  as  sir  Astley 
Cooper,  had  taken  two  of  his  mother's  pillows 
to  the  top  of  the  church,  and  when  he  had 
climbed  as  far  as  he  could  up  the  steeple,  he 
ripped  them  open,  and  scattered  their  contents 
to  the  wind. 


THE  WIND.  55 

The  Philohophical  Magazine  contains  an  ac- 
count of  a  singular  snow  phenomenon  that 
occurred  in  Orkney.  The  paper  was  contri- 
buted by  Mr.  Clouston,  of  Stromness.  "  One 
night  a  heavy  fall  of  snow  took  place,  which 
covered  the  plain  to  a  depth  of  several  inches. 
'  Upon  this  pure  carpet,'  says  the  writer,  '  there 
rested  next  morning  thousands  of  large  masses 
of  snow,  which  contrasted  strangely  with  its 
smooth  surface.'  These  occurred  generally  in 
])atches,  from  one  acre  to  a  hundred  in  extent, 
while  clusters  were  often  half-a-mile  asunder. 
The  fields  so  covered  looked  as  if  they  had 
been  scattered  over  with  cart-loads  of  manure, 
and  the  latter  covered  with  snow  ;  but,  on 
examination,  the  masses  were  all  found  to  be 
cylindrical,  like  hollow  fluted  rollers,  or  ladies' 
swan-down  muffs,  bearing  a  strong  resem- 
blance to  the  latter.  The  largest  measured  3^ 
feet  long,  and  7  feet  in  circumference.  The 
centres  were  nearly  but  not  quite  hollow;  and 
by  placing  the  head  within  when  the  sun  was 
bright,  the  concentric  structure  of  the  cylinder 
was  apparent.  They  did  not  occur  in  any  of 
the  adjoining  parishes,  and  were  limited  to  a 
space  of  about  five  miles.  The  first  idea,  as  to 
the  origin  of  these  bodies,  was,  that  they  had 
fallen  from  the  clouds,  and  portended  some 
direful  calamity.  But,  had  they  fallen  from  the 
atmosphere,  their  symmetry  and  loose  texture 
must  have  been  destroyed.  The  writer  having 
examined  them,  was  soon  convinced  that  they 


\ 


56  TERRESTRIAL  PHENOMENA. 

had  been  formed  by  the  wind  rolling  up  the 
snow  as  boys  form  snow-balls.  Their  round 
form,  concentric  structure,  fluted  surface,  and 
position  with  respect  to  the  weather  side  of 
eminences,  proved  this ;  and  it  was  also  evident, 
from  the  fact  of  their  lying  lengthways,  with 
their  sides  to  the  wind  ;  and  sometimes  their 
tracks  were  visible  in  the  snow  for  twenty  or 
thirty  yards  in  the  windward  direction,  whence 
they  had  evidently  gathered  up  their  concentric 
layers." 

A  correspondent  of  the  Athenceum,  in  a 
letter,  dated  Naples,  January  3rd,  1847,  men- 
tions another  very  striking  phenomenon.  He 
was  standing  on  a  cliff  overlooking  the  Medi- 
terranean, accompanied  by  an  Italian  friend. 
The  air  was  perfectly  tranquil,  and  yet  in  a 
moment  he  felt  himself  grasped  and  encircled, 
as  it  were,  by  an  unseen  and  irresistible  power, 
and,  in  spite  of  his  struggles,  he  felt  himself 
sailing  through  the  air  at  a  balloon  speed. 
After  a  few  moments  of  his  aerial  travelling,  he 
was  pitched  halfway  down  the  cliff  into  the 
centre  of  an  empty  lime-kiln,  not  far  from  the 
sea.  Nor  was  he  alone  ;  there  was  another 
heavy  fall  ;  for  his  friend  stood  opposite  him. 
As  they  were  encircled  by  a  force,  equal  at  all 
points,  though  the  shock  was  violent,  they  fell 
on  their  feet,  but  sank  directly  to  the  ground, 
and  there  sat  gazing  at  one  another,  unable 
either  to  move  or  speak.  Happily,  no  bones 
were  broken ;  but  so  severe  were  the  internal 


THE  WATER-SPOUT.  57 

injuries  experienced,  as  to  confine  them  to  tlieir 
beds  for  some  time,  and  they  expect  the  inter- 
nal effects  of  their  invohintary  and  dangerous 
voyage  to  remain  for  a  considerable  time. 

As  the  population  of  the  coasts  of  the  Medi- 
terranean are  exceedingly  ignorant  and  super- 
stitious, it  is  notv  surprising  that  the  people  in 
the  neighbourhood  said  that  the  Shal'ombre, 
the  evil  spirits,  in  the  lime-kiln,  must  have 
drawn  the  travellers  in  ;  and  attributed  their 
deliverance  to  the  intercession  of  the  souls  in 
purgatory  for  the  acts  of  charity  they  had 
performed  ! 

To  avoid  any  calamities,  which  the  mariners 
of  Naples  generally  attribute  to  demoniacal 
influence,  they  resort  to  the  practice  of  witch- 
craft. Few  are  the  barks  that  venture  to  the 
coral  fishery,  or  the  coasting-trade,  without 
having  a  magician  on  board.  Persons  of  this 
class,  however,  who  practise  the  art  supposed 
to  be  required  at  sea,  or  who  even  reveal  it  to 
others,  cannot  receive  absolution  from  an  ordi- 
nary confessor.  It  is  comprehended  under  the 
head  of  "  malaficia,"  one  of  the  reserved  sins 
to  be  found  in  the  printed  list  of  directions 
appended  to  ievery  confessional  in  Italy. 

And  yet,  were  witchcraft  available  in  any 
case,  it  could  not  be  in  connexion  with  the 
n-itural  operation,  which  the  mariners  call 
"  trombe  di  mare."  The  travellers  suffered,  in 
fact,  from  a  strong  wind,  connected  with  the 
phenomenon  of  a  Avaters  pout,  observed,  for  the 
most  part,  at  sea,  but  sometimes  also  on  shore. 


68  TERRESTRIAL  PHENOMENA. 

Its  usual  appearance  is  that  of  a  dense  cloud, 
like  a  conical  pillar,  which  seems  to  consist  of 
condensed  vapour,  and  is  seen  to  descend  with 
the  apex  downwards.  When  over  the  sea,  there 
are  generally  two  cones,  one  projecting  from 
the  cloud,  the  other  from  the  water  below  it. 
They  sometimes  unite,  and  then  a  flabh  of 
lightning  is  observed ;  on  other  occasions,  they 
disperse  before  any  junction  takes  place.  The 
effect  appears  to  be,  at  least  partly,  electrical; 
the  cones  being  in  opposite  states,  the  positive 
and  negative  attraction  ensue ;  and,  when  union, 
takes  place,  which  is  indicated  by  the  flash, 
the  bodies  are  restored  to  their  equilibrium. 

The  magicians  on  the  coast  practise  what 
they  call  the  art  of  "  cutting"  the  "  trombe." 
As  soon  as  it  is  seen  approaching  in  the  direc- 
tion of  a  boat,  the  wizard  goes  forward,  sends  all 
the  crew  aft,  that  they  may  not  be  eye-witnesses 
of  what  he  does  ;  and  using  certain  signs  or 
words,  and  making  a  movement  with  his  arms 
as  if  in  the  act  of  cutting,  the  enemy  falls  in 
two,  and  disappears. 

We  are  reminded  by  these  circumstances 
of  "  the  news  from  the  country,"  which  the 
Spectator  describes  as  brought  to  him  by  sir 
Eoger  de  Coverley.  One  part  of  it  was,  that 
Moll  White  was  dead,  and  that  about  a  month 
after  one  of  the  baronet's  barns  fell  down,  which 
led  to  the  shrewd  remark  :  "  I  do  not  think  the 
old  woman  had  anything  to  do  with  it."  Nor 
do  we  think  that  the  wizard  of  the  Mediter- 
ranean has  anything  to  do  with  "  cutting  the 


THE  ILISSUS.  5d 

wind."  The  probability  is,  that  he  seizes  on 
the  time  for  his  movements,  which,  from  expe- 
rience, he  knows  to  precede  the  dispersion  of  the 
cloud,  and  thus  acquires  credit  to  which  he  has 
not  the  slightest  claim. 

This  chapter  may  appropriately  be  concluded 
by  a  reference  to  the  waters  of  the  earth,  which 
are  often  represented  as  endued  wdth  a  super- 
natural power.  The  Ilissus,  rising  on  Mount 
Hymettus,  to  the  east  of  Athens,  and  overflow- 
ing its  banks,  furnishes  a  supply  of  excellent 
water  to  the  monastery  of  Sergiani.  On  one  side, 
are  three  small  caverns  in  the  rock,  with  double 
entrances  ;  apparently  the  work  of  nature,  but 
probably  aided  by  art.  They  are  still  sup- 
posed, as  they  have  been  during  past  ages,  to 
have  a  mystic  virtue  ;  and  "  no  remedy,"  says 
Dodwell,  is  considered  so  efficacious  for  a  sick 
child  as  "  to  drag  it  two  or  three  times  from  one 
cave  to  another;  by  which  it  is  either  killed  or 
cured.  Several  ancient  wells  are  observed  in 
the  rock  on  each  side  of  the  river.  Near  these, 
the  foundation  of  a  wall  crosses  the  bed  of  the 
Ilissus." 

Springs,  in  various  parts  of  this  and  other 
countries,  alternately  ebbing  and  flowing,  have 
been,  and  are  still,  in  some  cases,  supposed  to 
be  under  the  ban  of  witchcraft.  And  yet  the 
phenomena  are  easily  explained  by  natural 
laws.  If  the  shorter  end  of  a  bent  tube,  a,  whose 
branches  are  of  an  unequal  length,  be  placed  in 
a  basin  of  water,  and  the  air  is  drawn  from  it, 
we  have  a  syphon,  which  will  decant  the  wa  er 


60 


TERRESTRIAL  PHENOMENA. 


into  any  vessel.  Now  such  tubes  as  these 
are  naturally  formed  in  the  earth,  and  if  the 
water  be  drained  into  a  cavity,  b,  having  a 
syphon-like  channel,  c,  it  is  evident  that  it  will 
iiow  as  long  as  the  syphon  can  act,  and  it  will 
then  cease. 


Seneca  describes  a  spring  near  to  Tempe, 
in  Thessaly,  the  waters  of  which  are  fatal  to 
animals,  and  penetrate  iron  and  copper.  Yet, 
it  is  probable,  as  Dr.  Thomson  states,  that 
"  this  spring  contained  either  free  sulphuric 
acid,  or  a  highly  acidulous  salt  of  that  acid. 
This  acid  has  been  detected  in  a  free  state,  as 
well  as  hydrochloric  acid,  in  the  water  of  the 
Rio  Vindagre,  which  descends  from  the  volcano 
of  Paraie,  in  Columbia,  South  America.  Sul- 
phuric acid  is  also  found  in  the  waters  of  other 
volcanic  regions.  The  sour  springs  of  Byron, 
in  the  Genessee  country,  about  sixty  miles 
south  of  the  Erie  canal,  contain  sulphuric  acid. 


SPRINGS.  61 

Such  waters  would  rapidly  corrode  both  iron 
and  copper,  converting  the  former  into  green, 
the  latter  into  blue  vitriol — sulphates  of  both 
metals."* 

It  would  be  easy  to  extend  these  instances, 
in  connexion  with  the  phenomena  of  the  globe, 
but  the  present  will  suffice  to  show  that  a  little 
knowledge  of  natural  science  is  an  antidote 
to  many  superstitions.  We  proceed  now  to 
illustrations  of  agencies  in  active  operation  of 
a  different  character. 

*  Philosophy  of  Magic. 

6 


CHAPTER    V. 

Clicmicat  wonders— Ice  obtained  in  a  red-hot  vessel— The 
corpse  candles  of  Wales — Luminous  appearances  after 
death — Sadoomeh  the  magician— The  laughing  g^as — Sul- 
phuric ether — Chloroform— Gunpowder  compared  with 
gun-cotton. 

The  word  chemistry  is,  probably,  derived  from 
a  Coptic  root,  signifying  obscure  or  secret;  and 
the  German  word  geheim  is  traced  to  the  same 
origin.  The  objects  of  this  department  of 
science  are,  to  investigate  the  nature  and  pro- 
perties of  the  elements  of  matter  and  their 
mutual  actions  and  combinations;  to  ascertain 
the  proportions  in  which  they  unite  and  the 
modes  of  separating  them  when  united;  and  to 
inquire  into  the  laws  which  affect  and  rule  these 
agencies.  A  few  of  the  wonders  connected 
with  this  science  may,  therefore,  appropriately 
follow  the  terrestrial  phenomena  which  have 
just  been  considered. 

The  Komish  church  has  rendered  chemistry 
available  in  connexion  with  one  of  its  prodigies, 
the  so-called  blood  of  St.  Januarius.  A  substance 
is  shown  to  the  deluded  worshippers  in  a  phial, 
appearing  in  a  congealed  state;  but,  as  masses 
are  performed  by  the  priests,  it  becomes  fluid. 

62 


ROMISH  DELUSION.  63 

The  illusion  practised  in  this  case  may,  how- 
ever, be  easily  effected  by  reddening  sulphuric 
ether  with  orchanet,  the  onosma  of  Linnceus,  and 
then  saturating  the  tincture  with  spermaceti. 
This  preparation  is  solid  at  ten  degrees  above 
the  freezing  point,  and  melts  and  boils  at  twenty 
degrees.  Let  the  phial  which  contains  it  when 
coagulated,  be  held  in  the  hand  for  a  few  min- 
utes, and  the  temperature  of  the  substance 
rises,  and  it  becomes  fluid.  Even  the  warmth 
of  a  public  assembly  is  sufficient  for  this  pur- 
pose. 

Marcus,  the  chief  of  one  of  the  sects  in  the 
second  century,  who  wished  to  amalgamate 
with  Christianity  the  doctrines  and  rules  of 
pagan  rites,  filled  with  white  wine  three  cups 
of  transparent  glass;  and,  while  he  was  pray- 
ing, the  liquid  in  one  of  the  cups  became  like 
blood ;  in  another,  of  a  purple  colour ;  and 
in  the  third,  sky-blue.  But  these  effects  might 
easily  be  produced  by  chemical  action.  Pro- 
fessor Beyruss,  at  the  court  of  the  duke  of 
Brunswick,  promised  that  his  white  dress  should 
become  red  during  a  repast;  and  the  change 
took  place,  to  the  astonishment  of  the  prince 
and  his  guests.  M.  Vogel,  who  relates  this 
fact,  does  not  reveal  the  means  employed;  but 
observes  that,  by  pouring  lime-water  on  the 
juice  of  beet-root,  a  colourless  liquid  is  obtained, 
that  a  piece  of  cloth  dipped  in  it  and  quickly 
dried  becomes  red  in  a  few  hours  by  the  contact 
of  the  air  alone;  and  that  this  effect  may  be 
accelerated  in  a  room  where  champagne  and 


64  CHEJUCAI,  WONDERS. 

other  beverages  charged  with  carbonic  acid 
gas  are  abundantly  used.  Still  more  rapidly 
might  the  chanpre  be  effected  in  some  temple, 
in  the  midst  of  rising  incense  and  burning 
torches ;  and  the  veil  which  covered  things 
deemed  sacred,  might  thus  have  been  seen  to 
change  from  white  to  the  colour  of  blood — a 
presage  of  fearful  disasters. 

A  series  of  remarkable  experiments  was  per- 
formed by  professor  Boutigny,  at  the  British 
Association  at  Cambridge,  in  1845.  He  com- 
menced by  showing,  that  when  cold  water  is 
poured  on  a  hot  metallic  surface,  the  heat  is  not 
communicated  to  it ;  and  that  the  water  assumes 
a  spheroidal  form,  and  continues  to  roll  about, 
upheld  at  a  minute  distance  from  the  heated 
surface,  without  boiling.  The  water  was  poured 
into  a  hot  platinum  cup  kept  in  rapid  motion, 
and  resembled  a  small  globe  of  glass  dancing 
about.  There  was  no  hissing  noise  nor  appear- 
ance of  steam,  though  the  globule  of  water 
must,  nevertheless,  have  evaporated  rapidly; 
for,  after  gradually  diminishing  in  size,  in  the 
course  of  about  two  minutes  it  disappeared. 
The  same  result  takes  place  when  any  substance 
capable  of  assuming  a  globular  form  is  placed 
on  a  heated  surface.  In  proof  of  this,  the  pro- 
fessor placed  in  the  heated  cup  of  platinum, 
iodine,  ammonia,  and  some  inflammable  sub- 
stances; each  of  which  became  globular,  and 
danced  about  like  the  globule  of  water,  but 
without  emitting  smell  or  vapour,  or  being 
inflamed,  until  the  platinum  cup  was  .cooled. 


I 


ICE  IN  RED-HOT  VESSELS.  65 

Another  experiment  was  yet  more  curious. 
Professor  Boutigny  heated  a  silver  weight,  of 
the  same  shape  as  the  weight  of  a  clock,  until 
it  was  red-hot,  and  then  lowered  it  by  a  wire 
into  a  glass  of  cold  Avater,  without  there  being 
any  more  indication  of  action  in  the  Avater  than 
if  the  weight  had  been  quite  cold.  Professor 
Boutigny  advanced  no  theory  to  account  for 
these  peculiar  actions,  further  than  that  a  film 
of  vapour  intervenes  between  the  heated  body 
and  the  substance,  which  prevents  the  com- 
munication of  heat.  The  facts,  however,  he 
thought  were  of  importance  in  a  practical  point 
of  view,  both  as  regards  the  tempering  of 
metals,  and  in  the  explanation  of  the  causes 
of  steam-boiler  explosions.  It  would  seem, 
from  experiments  in  tempering  metals,  that,  if 
the  metal  be  too  much  heated,  the  effect  of 
plunging  it  into  water  will  be  diminished.  In 
steam-boilers,  also,  if  the  heated  water  be  in- 
troduced into  a  heated  surface,  the  heat  may 
not  be  communicated  to  the  water,  and  the 
boiler  may  become  red  hot,  and  without  any 
great  emission  of  steam;  until,  at  length,  when 
the  boiler  cools,  a  vast  quantity  of  steam  would 
become  suddenly  generated  and  the  boiler 
burst. 

The  last  and  most  curious  experiment  per- 
formed by  professor  Boutigny,  was  the  freezing 
of  water  in  a  red-hot  vessel.  Having  heated  a 
platinum  cup  red-hot,  he  poured  into  it  a  small 
quantity  of  water,  which  was  kept  in  a  globular 
form,  as. in  the  other  experiments.  He  then 
6* 


66.  CHEMICAL  WONDERS. 

poured  Into  the  cup  some  liquid  sulphurous 
acid;  when  a  sudden  evaporation  ensued,  and, 
on  quickly  inverting  the  cup,  there  came  out  a 
small  mass  of  ice.  The  principle  of  this  ex- 
periment, which  called  forth  loud  and  continued 
applause,  is  this: — sulphurous  acid  has  the 
property  of  boiling  Avater  when  it  is  at  a  tem- 
perature below  the  freezing  point;  and,  when 
poured  into  the  heated  vessel,  the  suddenness  of 
the  evaporation  occasions  a  degree  of  cold  suffi- 
cient to  freeze  water. 

Liquid  carbonic  acid  takes  a  high  position 
for  its  freezing  qualities.  Mr.  Adams,  of 
Kensington,  manufactures  this  curious  liquid  as 
an  article  of  commerce,  and  has,  occasionally, 
as  much  as  nine  gallons  of  it  in  store.  In 
drawing  it  from  its  poAverful  reservoirs,  it 
evaporates  so  rapidly  as  to  freeze,  and  it  is  then 
a  light  porous  mass,  like  snow.  If  a  small 
quantity  of  this  is  drenched  with  ether,  the 
degree  of  cold  produced  is  even  more  intolerable 
to  the  touch  than  boiling  water  ;  a  drop  or  two 
of  the  mixture  producing  blisters,  just  as  if  the 
skin  had  been  burned !  Mr.  Adams  states 
that,  in  eight  minutes  he  has  frozen  a  mass  of 
mercury  weighing  ten  pounds. 

In  one  department  of  knowledge — that  of 
vapours  and  gases — on  which  chemistry  casts 
so  much  light,  we  discover  many  remarkable 
phenomena.  Few  persons  have  resided,  for  ex- 
ample, in  the  fenny  and  swampy  districts  of  our 
island,  without  seeing,  at  least  occasionally,  the 
ignis  fatuus,  Will-o'-the-wisp,  or  Jack-o'-lantern, 


WILL-O'-THE-WTSP.  ^^ 

hovering  a  few  feet  above  the  surface  of  stagnant 
water. 

"  Wild  fires  dancing  o'er  the  heath," 

may  be  observed,  indeed,  at  almost  all  times  of 
the  year,  but  it  is  chiefly  in  autumn,  and  par- 
ticularly in  November,  that  they  flit  in  mazy 
circles  and  irregular  evolutions;  sometimes  at 
the  edge  of  a  morass,  over  the  tops  of  withered 
sedges,  reeds,  and  brushwood;  and,  at  others, 
over  palings  and  hedgerows,  or  the  still  surface 
of  the  oozy  bog. 

It  has  been  argued  by  some,  that  they  are 
eiFects  produced  by  luminous  insects,  as  the 
glow-worm,  the  gnat,  and  the  mole-cricket. 
But  this  theory  is  very  unsatisfactory,  and  the 
cause  which  is  now  generally  acknowledged  to 
be  the  real  one,  is  far  more  natural.  There  is 
a  substance  readily  obtained,  but  of  very  offen- 
sive odour,  called  phosphoret  of  lime;  and,  if  a 
piece  of  this  be  taken  and  dropped  into  a  pool 
of  water,  little  flames  will  be  seen  on  its  surface. 
These  arise  from  the  power  of  the  substance  to 
decompose  water,  in  consequence  of  which,  the 
hydrogen  ascends  to  the  surface,  and  ignites  on 
coming  in  contact  with  the  air. 

Dr.  Weissenborn  has  given  the  following 
interesting  statements  :  —  "  In  the  year  1818, 
I  was  fortunate  enough  to  get  a  fine  view 
of  the  ignes  fatui  operating  on  an  extensive 
scale.  I  Avas  then  at  Schnepfenthal,  in  the 
duchy  of  Gotha ;  and  in  a  clear  November 
night,  between  eleven  and  twelve  o'clock,  when 


ii 


CHEMICAL  WONDERS. 


I  had  just  undressed,  the  bright  moonshine 
allured  me  to  the  window,  to  survey  the  expanse 
of  boggy  meadows,  which  spread  two  or  three 
English  miles  in  length,  a  quarter-of-a-mile  from 
the  foot  of  the  hillock  on  which  the  house  in 
which  I  then  was,  is  standing.  Through  the  first 
third  of  the  meadows  there  was  a  winding  rivulet, 
of  the  breadth  of  seven  or  eight  feet,  which  then 
turns  off  into  an  artificial  bed,  whilst  the  old 
bed  continues  in  the  direction  of  the  meadows, 
which  are  bounded  on  one  side  by  a  i^ange  of 
brushwood,  and  on  the  other  by  cultivated 
grounds,  with  marshy  dells  here  and  there.  My 
intimate  acquaintance  with  the  locality,  together 
with  the  bright  moonshine,  enabled  me  to  dis- 
cover every  object  round  the  meadow-ground, 
sufficiently  well  to  judge  of  the  position  and 
direction  of  the  luminous  phenomena,  the  dis- 
play of  which  I  saw  as  soon  as  I  had  posted 
myself  at  the  window.  I  perceived  a  number 
of  reddish  yellow  flames  on  different  parts  of  the 
expanse  of  almost  level  ground.  I  descried, 
perhaps,  no  more  than  six  at  a  time,  but  dying 
away  and  appearing  in  other  places  so  rapidly, 
that  it  was  impossible  to  count  them;  but  I 
should  say,  on  a  rough  calculation,  there  were 
about  twenty  or  twenty-five  within  a  second. 
Some  were  small  and  burned  dimly;  others 
flashed  with  a  bright  flame,  in  a  direction 
almost  parallel  with  the  ground,  and  coinciding 
with  that  of  the  wind,  which  was  rather  brisk. 
After  having  for  some  time  looked  with  amaze- 
ment at  the  brilliant  scene,  as  a  whole,  I  tried 


will-o'-the-wisp.  69 

to  study  its  details,  and  soon  found  that  the 
flames  which  were  nearest  originated  in  a 
quagmire,  the  position  of  which  I  knew  exactly, 
by  a  solitary  cluster  of  willows;  and  I  could 
trace  a  succession  of  flashes  from  that  spot  to  a 
certain  point  of  the  margin  of  the  wood  across 
the  rivulet  and  meadow.  The  distance  of  the 
two  points  from  each  other  was  more  than  half- 
a-mile,  and  the  flames  travelled  over  it,  perhaps, 
in  less  than  a  second.  The  first  flash  was  not 
always  observed  in  the  immediate  neighbour- 
hood of  the  quagmire;  but  the  succession  of 
flames  lay  always  in  the  same  straight  line,  and 
in  the  direction  of  the  wind ;  whilst  other  sets 
were  observed,  though  not  with  the  same  dis- 
tinctness, in  the  more  distant  parts  of  the 
meadow-ground. 

"  After  about  an  hour,  a  bank  of  mist  began 
to  overspread  the  meadows,  but  I  saw  the  light 
still  glimmering  through  it,  whilst  I  dressed 
myself,  in  order  to  examine  the  phenomenon  in 
its  laboratory.  However,  when  I  reached  the 
meadows,  the  atmospheric  conditions  which 
gave  rise  to  the  ignes  fatui  had  ceased  to  exist." 
'Weissenborn  then  expresses  his  belief  that  the 
phosphoric  hydrogen  gas,  exhaled  by  certain 
swamps,  is  kindled  into  flame  by  coming  in 
contact  with  the  atmospheric  air;  but,  as  the 
hj^drogen  is  not  saturated  with  phosphorus,  (the 
greater  portion  of  the  latter  being  precipitated 
in  passing  through  the  water  as  red  oxide  of 
phosphorus,)  there  is  a  certain  electric  condition 
of  the  atmosphere  necessary  to  cause  the  com- 


CHEMICAL  WONDERS. 

bustion.  Thus,  under  common  circumstances, 
the  gas  is  evolved  and  dissipated  without  being 
observed;  but  when  the  state  of  the  atmosphere 
is  competent  to  effect  its  combustion,  the  proper 
degree  of  electrical  tension  is  lost  at  the  place 
where  the  explosion  is  effected ;  and,  until  it  is 
restored,  or  the  gas  comes  in  contact  with  that 
layer  of  the  atmosphere  which  possesses  the 
requisite  degree  of  electrical  tension,  a  consi- 
derable body  of  bog  gas  may  collect,  and  be 
carried  in  the  direction  of  the  wind,  so  as  to 
give  rise  to  a  sort  of  quick  fire,  with  occasional 
flashes;  in  those  places  of  the  stream  of  gas 
where  there  happens  to  be  a  considerable 
volume  of  it.  The  lights,  which  still  frequently 
excite  apprehensions  in  Wales,  and  are  popu- 
larly termed  "  corpse  candles,"  have  the  same 
origin  as  the  "  ignes  fatui." 

At  the  village  of  Wigmore,  in  Herefordshire, 
there  are  fields  which  may  be,  and  two  houses 
which  really  are,  illuminated  with  a  natural 
gas.  This  vapour,  with  which  the  subjacent 
strata  seem  to  be  charged,  is  obtained  in  the 
following  manner : — a  hole  is  made  in  the  cellar 
of  the  house,  or  other  locality,  with  an  iron 
rod ;  a  hollow  tube  is  then  placed  therein,  fitted 
with  a  burner  sin:iilar  to  those  used  for  ordinary 
gas-lights,  and  immediately  on  applying  a  flame 
to  the  jet,  a  soft  and  brilliant  light  is  obtained, 
which  may  be  kept  burning  at  pleasure.  The 
gas  is  very  pure,  quite  free  from  any  offensive 
smell,  and  does  not  stain  the  ceilings,  as  is 
generally    the    case    with    the    manufactured 


NATURAL  GAS.  71 

article.  Besides  lighting,  rooms,  etc.,  it  has 
been  used  for  cooking ;  and,  indeed,  seems 
capable  of  the  same  applications  as  prepared 
carbnretted  hydrogen.  There  are  several  fields 
in  which  the  phenomenon  exists,  and  children 
are  seen  boring  holes  and  setting  the  gas  on 
fire  for  amusement.  It  is  now  several  months 
since  the  discovery  was  made;  and  a  great 
many  of  the  curious  have  visited,  and  still  con- 
tinue to  visit,  the  spot. 

If  the  Chinese  are  not  manufacturers,  they  are, 
nevertheless,  gas  consumers  and  employers  on 
a  large  scale ;  and  have  evidently  been  so,  ages 
before  the  knowledge  of  its  application  was 
acquired  by  Europeans.  Beds  of  coal  are  fre- 
quently pierced  by  the  borers  of  salt  water; 
and  the  inflammable  gas  is  forced  up  in  jets 
twenty  or  thirty  feet  in  height.  From  these 
fountains,  the  vapour  has  been  conveyed  to  the 
salt-works  in  pipes,  and  there  used  for  the 
boiling  and  evaporation  of  the  salt ;  other  tubes 
convey  the  gas  intended  for  lighting  the  streets, 
and  the  larger  apartments  and  kitchens.  As 
there  is  still  more  gas  than  is  required,  the 
excess  is  conducted  beyond  the  limits  of  the 
salt-works,  and  forms  separate  chimneys  or 
columns  of  flame. 

A  singular  counterpart  to  this  employment 
of  natural  gas,  js  witnessed  in  the  valley  of  the 
Kanawha,  in  Virginia.  The  origin,  the  means 
of  supply,  the  application  to  all  the  processes  of 
manufacturing  salt,  and  of  the  appropriation  of 
the  surplus  for  the  purposes  of  illumination,  are 


72  CHEMCAL  WONDERS. 

remarkably  alike  at  such  distant  points  as 
China  and  the  United  States. 

It  has  sometimes  been  stated  of  a  departed 
person,  that  a  luminous  appearance  was  observed 
to  rest  upon,  and  occasionally  to  surround,  a 
corpse.  Such  an  effect  has  been  described  as 
supernatural — a  Divine  attestation  to  extra- 
ordinary excellence;  and,  doubtless,  Eoman 
Catholics  have  made  the  most  of  such  circum- 
stances in  reference  to  those  whom  they  have 
denominated  saints,  and  to  whom  a  place  has 
been  assigned  in  their  calendar.  And  yet  there 
was  no  departure  in  any  such  instance  from  the 
ordinary  laws  of  nature.  Sir  H.  IVIarsh,  in  an 
essay  on  "  The  Evolution  of  Light  from  the 
Human  Subject,"  states,  that  electric  sparks 
have  been  known  to  issue  from  the  skin  of  some 
individuals  when  rubbed  lightly  and  quickly 
with  a  linen  cloth.  Not  only  has  this  physi- 
cian heard  of  such  cases,  but  two  had  actually 
come  under  his  observation. 

He  was  led  to  consider  the  subject  by  the 
following  statement  made  to  him.  "  About  an 
hour  and  a-half  before  my  sister's  death,  we 
were  struck  by  appearances  proceeding  from 
her  head,  in  a  diagonal  direction.  She  was,  at 
the  time,  in  a  half- recumbent  position,  and  per- 
fectly tranquil.  The  light  was  pale  as  the 
moon,  but  quite  evident  to  mamma,  myself, 
and  sisters,  who  were  watching  over  her  at  the 
time.  One  of  us,  at  first,  thought  that  it  was 
lightning ;  till,  shortly  after,  we  fancied  we 
perceived  a  sort  of  tremulous  glimmer  playing 


LUMINOUS  APPEARANCES.  73 

round  the  head  of  the  bed ;  and  then,  recollect- 
ing that  we  had  read  something  of  a  similar 
nature  having  been  observed  previous  to  dis- 
solution, we  had  candles  brought  into  the  room, 
fearing  our  dear  sister  would  perceive  it,  and 
that  it  might  disturb  the  tranquilHty  of  her 
last  moments." 

A  similar  appeai'ance  around  the  person, 
and  in  the  room,  of  a  man  who  fell  a  sacrifice 
to  lingering  disease  in  a  remote  district  of  the 
south-west  of  Ireland,  is  recorded.  All  the 
witnesses  agree  in  having  seen  the  light ;  many, 
however,  came  to  the  conclusion  that  it  was 
caused  by  supernatural  agency,  and  a  proof  of 
miraculous  interposition,  and  even  evidence  of 
Divine  favour.  Considerable  excitement  was 
occasioiied  in  the  south  of  Ireland  by  the  fol- 
loAving  case,  related  by  Dr.  D.  Donavan,  in  the 
DuUin  Medical  Press,  Jan.  15,  1840 :—"  I 
was  sent  for,"  the  Doctor  says,  "  in  December, 
1828,  to  see  Harrington.  He  had  been  under 
the  care  of  my  predecessor,  and  had  been  en- 
tered in  the  dispensary  book  as  a  phthisical 
patient;  and,  on  reference  to  my  note-book,  I 
iind  that  the  stethoscopic  and  other  indications 
of  phthisis  were  indubitable.  He  was  under 
my  care  for  about  five  years;  during  which 
time,  strange  to  say,  the  symptoms  continued 
stationary;  and  I  had  discontinued  my  attend- 
ance for  about  two  years,  when  the  report 
became  general,  that  mysterious  lights  were 
every  night  seen  in  his  cabin.  The  subject 
attracted  a  great  deal  of  attention;  and,  like 


74  CHEMICAL  WONDERS. 

everything  else  in  Ireland,  at  once  assumed  a 
sectarian    complexion;    some    attributing    the 
light  to  the  miraculous  interference  of  Heaven ; 
others,  to  the  practice  of  the  black  art.     Not 
regarding  these  views  as  affording  an  explana- 
tion of  the  mystery,  I  determined  to  subject 
the  matter  to  the  ordeal   of  my  own  senses; 
and,  for  this  purpose,  visited  the  cabin  for  four- 
teen nights;   and  on  three  nights,  only,  did  I 
witness  anything  unusual.     Once  I  perceived 
a  luminous  fog,  resembling  the  aurora  borealis, 
and  twice  I   saw  the   scintillations,   like   the 
sparkling  phosphorescence  sometimes  exhibited 
by  the  sea  infusoria.     From  the  close  scrutiny 
I  made,  I  can,  with  certainty,  say,  that  no  im- 
position  was   either    employed   or   attempted. 
How   are  these   appearances  to  be  accounted 
for  ?     In  answering  this  question,  I  would  ob- 
serve, that  they  are  never  seen  but  in  cases  of 
extensive  disease,  and  when  considerable  alter- 
ation of  structure  has  taken  place.     Processes 
analogous  to  decomposition   are   witnessed  in 
the  human  subject  while  the  living  principle 
remains." 

On  these,  and  similar  facts.  Dr.  Marsh  re- 
marks :  "  Disease  is  but  a  step  toward  disso- 
lution, in  which  the  vital  powers  are  impaired ; 
and,  unless  the  malady  be  checked,  by  the  use 
of  proper  means,  a  period  will  quickly  ap- 
proach when  the  chemical  action  will  entirely 
prevail  over  the  whole  frame.  Phosphorescent 
matter  may  be  generated  in  organic  bodies  at 
a  period  of  incipient  decomposition;  and  when 


THE  MAGICIAN  SADOOMEH.  75 

we  consider  that  phosphuretted  hydrogen  un- 
dergoes spontaneous  combustion,  when  brought 
in  contact  with  the  oxygen  of  the  atmosphere, 
and  that  the  component  parts  of  which  this 
gas  is  formed  exist  in  the  body  in  great  abun- 
dance, an  easy  solution  is  at  hand,  accounting 
for  the  himinous  appearances  which  have  been 
witnessed  in  dissecting-rooms,  in  burial-grounds, 
and  in  marine  substances,  as  well  as  on  the 
approach  of  dissolution." 

The  Arabs  are  well  known  as  believers  in 
wonders ;  and  of  one  of  their  magicians,  named 
Sadoomeh,  the  following  story  is  told.  "  In 
order  to  give  one  of  his  friends  a  treat,  he  took 
him  to  the  distance  of  abont  half-an-hour's 
walk  into  the  desert,  on  the  north  of  Cairo,  where 
they  both  sat  down  upon  the  pebbly  and  sandy 
plain;  and  the  magician  having  uttered  a  spell, 
they  suddenly  found  themselves  in  the  midst  of 
a  garden,  like  one  of  the  gardens  of  Paradise, 
abounding  with  flowers  and  fruit-trees  of  every 
kind,  springing  up  from  a  soil  covered  with 
verdure  brilliant  as  the  emerald,  and  irrigated 
by  numerous  streamlets  of  the  purest  water. 
A  repast  of  the  most  deUcious  viands  and  fruit 
was  spread  before  them  by  invisible  hands; 
and  they  both  ate  and  drank  to  satiety,  taking 
copious  draughts  of  the  various  wines.  At 
length  the  magician's  guest  sank  into  a  deep 
sleep,  and  when  he  awoke  he  found  himself 
again  in  the  pebbly  and  sandy  plain,  with 
Sadoomeh  still  by  his  side."  "  The  reader  will 
probably  attribute  this  vision,"  says  ISIr.  Lane, 


76  CHEmCAL  WONDERS. 

who  relates  the  tale,  "  to  a  dose  of  opium  or 
some  similar  drug;  and  such  I  suppose  to  have 
been  the  means  employed ;  for  I  cannot  doubt 
the  integrity  of  the  narrator,  though  he  would 
not  admit  such  an  explanation;  regarding  the 
whole  as  an  affair  of  magic,  'jinn,'  or  genii." 

A  story  of  Gassendi,  one  of  the  most  dis- 
tinguished of  naturalists,  mathematicians,  and 
philosophers  of  France,  in  the  sixteenth  cen- 
tury, will  place  this  solution  in  a  still  clearer 
light.  As  he  was  taking  a  morning  walk  near 
Deigne,  in  Provence,  his  ears  were  assailed  by 
repeated  exclamations  of  "  A  sorcerer !  a  sor- 
cerer 1"  On  glancing  behind  him,  he  beheld  a 
mean  and  simple-looking  man,  with  his  hands 
tied,  whom  a  mob  of  the  countrj^-people  were 
hurrying  to  prison.  Gassendi's, character  and 
learning  had  given  him  great  authoritj'  with 
them,  and  he  desired  to  be  left  alone  with  the 
man.  They  immediately  surrendered  him, 
and  Gassendi  said  to  him,  in  private,  "  My 
friend,  you  must  tell  me  sincerely,  whether  you 
have  made  a  compact  with  the  devil  or  not :  if 
you  confess  it,  I  will  give  you  your  liberty  im- 
mediately ;  but,  if  you  refuse  to  tell  me,  I  will 
give  you  immediately  into  the  hands  of  a  ma- 
gistrate." The  man  answered,  "  Sir,  I  will 
own  that  I  go  to  a  meeting  of  wizards  every 
day.  One  of  my  friends  has  given  me  a  drug, 
which  I  take  to  effect  this,  and  I  have  been 
received  as  a  sorcerer  these  three  years."  He 
then  described  the  proceedings  of  these  meet- 
ings, and  spoke  of  the  different  devils,  as  if  he 


THE  SORCERER  UNDECEIVED.  77 

had  been  all  his  life  acquainted  with  them. 
"  Show  me,"  said  Gassendi,  "  the  drug  which 
you  take  to  attend  this  infernal  meeting,  for  I 
intend  to  go  there  with  you  to-night."  The 
man  replied,  "  As  you  please,  Sir;  I  will  take 
you  at  midnight,  as  soon  as  the  clock  strikes 
twelve."  Accordingly,  he  met  Gassendi  at  the 
appointed  hour,  and,  showing  him  two  boluses, 
each  of  the  size  of  a  w^alnut,  he  desired  him  to 
swallow  one,  as  soon  as  Gassendi  had  seen  him 
swallow  the  other,  and  then  they  lay  down  to- 
gether on  a  goat-skin.  The  man  soon  fell  asleep, 
but  Gassendi  remained  awake  and  watched  him, 
and  perceived  that  he  was  greatly  disturbed  in 
his  slumbers,  and  writhed  and  twisted  his  body 
about,  as  if  he  had  been  troubled  by  bad 
dreams.  At  the  expiration  of  five  or  six  hours 
he  awoke,  and  said  to  Gassendi,  "  I  am  sure, 
Sir,  3'ou  ought  to  be  satisfied  with  the  manner 
in  which  the  great  goat  received  you ;  he  con- 
ferred on  you  a  high  honour  when  he  permitted 
you  to  kiss  his  tail  the  first  time  he  ever  saw 
you."  It  was  thus  apparent  that  the  dele- 
terious opiate  had  operated  upon  his  imagina- 
tion. Gassendi,  compassionating  his  weakness 
and  credulity,  took  pains  to  convince  him  of 
his  self-delusion;  and,  showing  him  the  bolus, 
he  gave  it  to  a  dog,  who  soon  fell  asleep,  and 
suffered  great  convulsions.  The  poor  fellow 
was  set  at  liberty  to  undeceive  his  brethren, 
who  had,  like  him,  been  lulled  by  the  noxious 
drug  into  imagining  themselves  sorcerers. 
In  India  there  is  a  native  plant,  which,  after 


78  CHEMICAL  WONDERS. 

it  has  iloAvered,  is  dried  and  sold  in  tlie  "bazaars 
of  Calcutta,  for  smoking.  The  Hindoos  call  it 
"  ganpah,"  and  they  give  the  name  of  "  bang"  or 
"  subjee"  to  the  large  leaves  and  capsules  which 
they  use  for  the  same  purpose.  The  plant  is 
a  species  of  hemp;  the  smoking  of  which  is 
considered  so  delightful,  according  to  Dr. 
Thomson,  as  to  have  been  denominated  by  such 
epithets  as  "  Assuager  of  sorrow,"  "  Increaser 
of  pleasure,"  "  Cementer  of  friendship,"  "  Laugh- 
ter-mover," and  others  of  the  same  kind. 

On  the  same  authority  it  is  stated,  that  in 
Nepaul,  the  resin  only  is  used ;  in  some  places 
it  is  collected  by  native  coolies,  walking  through 
the  fields  of  hemp  at  the  time  the  plants  give 
forth  the  resin,  which,  adhering  to  the  skin,  is 
scraped  off  from  it,  and  kneaded  into  balls.  It 
is  taken  in  doses,  from  a  grain  to  two  grains, 
and  causes  a  delightful  delirium.  When  re- 
peated, however,  it  is  followed  by  catalepsy,  or 
that  state  of  insensibility  which  allows  the  body 
to  be  moulded  into  any  form  like  a  Dutch- 
jointed  doll,  the  limbs  remaining  in  the  position 
in  which  they  were  placed,  though  contrary  to 
the  law  of  gravity,  and  continuing  so  for  many 
hours. 

We  are  well  acquainted  with  various  means 
of  acting  in  an  extraordinary  manner  on  the 
human  frame.  The  writer,  in  common  with 
multitudes,  has  witnessed,  for  example,  the 
operation  of  nitrous  oxide,  often  called  "  the 
laughing-gas."  It  acts,  however,  very  diiFer- 
ently  on  different  persons;  some  laugh  immo- 


THE  LAUGHING-GAS.  79 

derately,  others  become  depressed,  others  assume 
the  airs  of  vanity  and  importance  which  accord 
with  their  most  cherished  dispositions;  and 
some  can  only  be  forcibly  restrained  from  deeds 
of  great  violence.  It  is  certainly  a  most  sin- 
gular sight  to  see  a  person  laughing  most 
boisterously,  or  strutting  with  all  the  hauteur 
of  a  newly-made  potentate,  suddenly  subside  as 
the  action  of  the  gas  ceases,  into  a  very  unob- 
trusive individual. 

"We  may  now  briefly  allude  to  one  of  the  most 
extraordinary  applications  of  the  present  times. 
The  late  sir  Humphry  Davy  made  many  ex- 
periments on  the  effects  of  various  gases  on  tlie 
human  lungs.  He  found,  in  his  own  person, 
that  the  inhalation  of  nitrous  oxide  removed 
head-ache,  and  greatly  assuaged  the  pain  of  cut- 
ting a  wisdom-tooth.  In  his  works,  edited  by 
Dr.  John  Davy,  is  the  following  passage: — 

"  As  nitrous  oxide,  in  its  extensive  operation, 
appears  capable  of  destroying  physical  pain,  it 
may  probably  be  used  with  advantage  during 
surgical  operations  in  which  no  great  effusion 
of  blood  takes  place."  Here  is  the  germ  of  the 
recent  application  of  ether. 

"  The  effects  of  this  inhalation,  as  indicated 
by  the  patient's  own  recollection,"  says  a  writer 
in  the  North  British  Review^  "  are  very  various. 
In  general  they  are  somewhat  as  follows : — A 
pleasing  sense  of  soothing  succeeds  the  first 
irksomeness  of  the  pungent  vapour — a  soothing 
of  both  mind  and  body.  Ringing  in  the  ears 
takes  place,  with  some  confusion  of  sight  and 


80  CHEMICAL  WONDERS. 

intellectual  perception.  The  limbs  are  felt 
cold  and  powerless;  the  hands  and  feet  first, 
then  the  knees ;  and  the  feeling  is  as  if  these 
parts  had  ceased  to  be  peculiar  property,  and 
dropped  away.  This  sensation  may  gradually 
creep  over  the  whole  frame ;  the  patient  becom- 
ing, in  more  senses  than  one,  truly  etherealized ; 
reduced  to  the  condition  of  no  body  and  all 
soul.  The  objects  around  are  either  lost  sight 
of  or  strangely  perverted;  fancied  shadows  flit 
before  the  eyes,  and  then  a  dream  sets  in — 
sometimes  calm  and  placid,  sometimes  active 
and  bustling,  sometimes  very  pleasurable, 
sometimes  frightful,  as  a  nightmare.  Emerging, 
the  figures  and  scenes  shift  rapidly,  and  grow 
fainter  and  fainter;  present  objects  are  caught 
by  the  eye  once  more,  the  ringing  of  the  ears 
is  heard  again,  consciousness  and  self-control 
return,  a  tendency  to  excited  talking  is  very 
manifest,  movement  is  unsteady,  and,  both  in 
mind  and  body,  a  kind  of  intoxication  is  de- 
clared. It  is,  however,  of  a  light  and  airy 
kind ;  very  pure,  very  pleasant,  and  very  pass- 
ing, and,  when  gone,  leaving  very  little  trace 
behind. 

"  Experience  has  fully  shown  that  the  brain 
may  be  acted  on  so  as  to  annihilate,  for  the 
time,  what  may  be  termed  the  faculty  of  feel- 
ing pain  ;  the  organ  of  general  sense  may  be 
lulled  into  profound  sleep,  while  the  organ  of 
special  sense,  and  the  organ  of  intellectual 
function  remain  wide  awake,  active,  and  busily 
employed.    The  patient  may  feel  no  pain  under 


INHALATION  OF  ETHER.  81 

very  cruel  cutting,  and  yet  he  may  see,  hear, 
taste,  and  smell,  as  Avell  as  ever,  to  all  appear- 
ance ;  and  he  may  also  be  perfectly  conscious 
of  everything  "within  reach  of  his  observation — 
able  to  reason  on  such  events  most  lucidly,  and 
able  to  retain  both  the  events  and  the  reason- 
ing in  his  memory  afterwards.  We  have  seen 
a  patient  following  the  operator  with  her  eyes 
most  intelligently  and  watchfully,  as  he  shifted 
his  place  near  her,  lifted  his  knife,  and  pro- 
ceeded to  use  it ;  wincing  not  at  all  during  its 
use ;  answering  questions  by  gesture,  very 
readily  and  plainly  ;  and,  after  the  operation 
was  over,  narrating  every  event  as  it  occurred  ; 
declaring  that  she  knew  and  saw  all ;  stating 
that  she  knew  and  felt  that  she  was  being  cut,  and 
yet  that  she  felt  no  pain  whatever.  Patients 
have  said,  quietly,  '  You  are  sawing  now,'  dur- 
ing the  use  of  the  saw  in  amputation  ;  and 
afterwards  they  have  declared  most  solemnly, 
that  though  quite  conscious  of  that  part  of  the 
operation,  yet  they  felt  no  pain.  We  have 
seen  a  patient  enduring  amputation  of  a  limb 
without  any  sign  of  suiFering,  opening  her  eyes 
during  the  performance,  at  its  most  painful 
part,  descrying  a  country  practitioner  at  some 
distance — under  whose  care  she  had  formerly 
been,  and  whom  she  had  not  seen  for  some 
considerable  time — addressing  him  by  name, 
and  requesting  that  he  might  not  leave  town 
without  seeing  her." 

Since  the  period  to  which  the  writer  just 
quoted  refers,  Dr.  Simpson,  of  Edinburgh,  has 


82  CHEMICAL  WONDERS. 

discovered  a  substitute  for  sulphuric  ether — 
chloroform,  or  the  perchloride  of  formyle.  It  is 
stated  to  possess  over  sulphuric  ether  the  follow- 
ing advantages:  —  1.  A  greatly  less  quantity 
of  chloroform  than  of  ether  is  requisite  to  pro- 
duce the  desired  effect.  2.  Its  action  is  much 
more  rapid  and  complete,  and  generally  more 
enduring.  3.  The  inhalation  and  influence  of 
chloroform  are  far  more  agreeable  and  pleasant 
than  those  of  ether.  4.  The  use  of  chloroform 
is  less  expensive  than  that  of  ether.  5.  Its 
odour  is  not  unpleasant ;  nor  does  it  exhale 
in  a  disagreeable  form  from  the  lungs  of  the 
patient,  as  so  generally  happens  with  sulphuric 
ether.  6.  Being  required  in  much  lesd  quan- 
tity, it  is  much  more  portable  and  transmiss- 
ible than  sulphuric  ether.  7.  No  special  kind 
of  inhaler  or  instrument  is  necessary  for  its  ex- 
hibition. A  little  of  the  liquid  diffused  upon 
the  interior  of  a  hollow-shaped  sponge,  or  on  a 
pocket-handkerchief,  or  a  piece  of  linen  or 
paper,  or  held  over  the  mouth  and  nostrils,  so 
as  to  be  fully  inhaled,  generally  suffices,  in 
about  a  minute  or  two,  to  produce  the  effect. 
This  agent,  however,  requires  to  be  used  to 
annul  pain  under  the  direction  of  a  judicious 
medical  practitioner  ;  it  may  otherwise  be  pro- 
ductive of  serious  consequences. 

A  prodigious  force  often  arises  from  chemical 
affinity.  Of  this,  gunpowder  presents  a  familiar 
instance.  It  is  formed  of  nitre,  sulphur,  and 
charcoal,  which,  in  the  ordinary  state,  are  only 
combined  mechanically  ;  but  no  sooner  is  this 


GUN-COTTON.  83 

compound  ignited,  than  these  substances  are 
brought,  by  chemical  action,  into  such  close 
contact,  as  to  evolve  a  mighty  and  destructive 
power  It  seemed  likely  to  be  thrown  into  the 
shade  by  the  discovery  of  gun-cotton  as  an  ex- 
plosive agent,  which  excited  extraordinary  in- 
terest throughout  Europe.  On  projectile  expe- 
riments being  made,  a  gun,  charged  with  thirty 
grains  of  prepared  cotton,  propelled  an  equal 
charge  of  shot,  with  greater  force  and  precision, 
at  a  distance  of  forty  yards,  than  were  gained  by 
the  same  gun  loaded  with  a  hundred-and-twenty 
grains  of  gunpowder.  A  rifle,  charged  with 
fifty-four  and-a-half  grains  of  gunpowder,  sent 
a  ball  through  seven  boards,  half-an-inch  in 
thickness,  at  a  distance  of  forty  yards  ;  the 
same  rifle,  charged  with  forty  grains  of  gun- 
cotton,  caused  the  ball  to  enter  the  eighth  board. 
Another  rifle,  which  had  been  used  for  elephant- 
shooting,  and  consequently  carried  a  much 
larger  ball,  charged  with  forty  grains  of  gun- 
cotton,  forced  the  ball  through  eight  boards, 
at  a  distance  of  ninety  yards.  In  no  case  was 
the  discharge  accompanied  by  a  greater  recoil 
than  usual ;  and  the  reports  were  not  louder 
than  those  accompanying  the  discharge  of  guns 
and  rifles  loaded  with  gunpowder.  According 
to  the  specification  of  the  patentee,  M.  Schon- 
bein,  cotton  is  preferred  for  this  purpose,  freed 
from  extraneous  matters;  and  it  is  considered 
desirable  to  operate  on  the  clean  fibres  of  the 
cotton  in  a  dry  state,  by  means  of  nitric  and 
sulphuric  acids.     These  are  mixed  together  in 


84  CHEMICAL  WONDERS. 

the  proportion  of  one  measure  of  nitric  acid  to 
three  measures  of  sulphuric  acid,  in  any  suit- 
able or  convenient  vessel  not  liable  to  be 
affected  by  the  acids.  A  great  degree  of  heat 
being  generated  by  the  mixture,  it  is  left  to 
cool  until  its  temperature  falls  to  sixty  or  fifty 
degrees  Fahrenheit.  The  cotton  is  then  im- 
mersed in  it  ;  and,  in  order  that  it  may  become 
thoroughly  saturated  with  the  acids,  it  is  stirred 
with  a  rod  cl'  glass,  or  other  material,  not 
affected  by  the  acids.  The  cotton  should  be 
introduced  in  as  open  a  state  as  practicable. 
The  acids  are  then  poured  or  drawn  off,  and 
the  cotton  gently  pressed  by  a  presser  of  glazed 
earthenware,  to  take  out  the  acids,  after  which 
it  is  covered  up  in  the  vessel,  and  allowed  to 
stand  for  about  an  hour.  It  is  subsequently 
washed  in  a  continuous  flow  of  water,  until  the 
presence  of  the  acids  is  not  indicated  by  the 
ordinary  test  of  litmus  paper.  To  remove  any 
uncombined  portions  of  the  acids  which  may 
remain  after  the  cleansing  process,  the  patentee 
dips  the  cotton  in  a  weak  solution  of  carbonate 
of  potash,  composed  of  one  ounce  of  carbonate 
of  potash  to  one  gallon  of  water,  and  partially 
dries  it  by  pressing,  as  before.  The  cotton  is 
then  highly  explosive,  and  may  be  used  in  that 
state  ;  but,  to  increase  its  explosive  power,  it  is 
dipped  in  a  weak  solution  of  nitrate  of  potash, 
and,  lastly,  dried  in  a  room  heated  by  hot  air, 
or  steam,  to  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  degrees 
Fahrenheit. 

The  advantages  and  disadvantages   of  this 


GUN-COTTON.  85 

substance  have  thus  been  stated  b}''  professor 
Brande  : — "  The  disadvantages  are,  that  the 
effects  are  less  regular  than  those  of  gunpow- 
der ;  that  it  is  more  dangerous,  because  inflam- 
ing at  a  lower  temperature  ;  that  it  does  not 
take  fire  when  compressed  in  tubes  ;  that  it 
burns  slowly  in  all  kinds  of  cartridges  ;  that 
guns  and  pistols  must  be  altered  to  admit  of 
its  use ;  that  it  is  not  adapted  for  the  use  of  the 
army  ;  that  the  barrel  of  the  gun  is  moistened 
by  the  water  produced  during  combustion. 
The  advantages,  on  the  other  hand,  may  be 
stated  as  follows  :  —  Its  extreme  cleanliness, 
leaving  no  residue  after  combustion  ;  its  free- 
dom from  all  bad  smell ;  the  fecility  and  the 
safety  of  its  preparation  ;  the  possessing  treble 
the  force  of  gunpowder ;  its  explosion  producing 
no  smoke,  and  less  noise  than  that  of  gun- 
powder ;  its  filamentary  nature  admitting  of  its 
being  used  over  head  in  mining  operations  ; 
its  not  being  liable  (as  a  granulated  substance 
is)  to  the  accidents  of  leakage  ;  its  occasioning 
very  little  recoil." — Every  benevolent  mind  must 
wish  to  hear  no  more  of  "  the  confused  noise  of 
battle  and  of  garments  rolled  in  blood  ;"  and 
that  the  time  may  soon  arrive  when  men  shall 
"  beat  their  swords  into  ploughshares,  and 
their  spears  into  pruning-hooks  ;"  when  "  they 
shall  learn  war  no  more,"  but  yield  themselves 
heartily  and  devotedly  to  the  benignant  sway 
of  the  Prince  of  peace.  There  seems,  however, 
no  reason  to  conclude  that  gun-cotton  will  be 
employed  for  any  hostile  purpose,  the  Board  of 
8 


86  CHEMICAL  WONDERS. 

Ordnance  having  definitely  decided  against  its 
adoption  in  the  miUtary  and  naval  services.  The 
principal  objection  to  it  is,  the  very  low  tem- 
perature at  which  it  explodes.  The  mere  heat- 
ing of  a  gun,  from  a  number  of  charges  success- 
ively fired,  has  been  proved  sufficient  to  cause 
an  instant  explosion  of  gun-cotton. 

In  mining,  it  is  likely  to  be  of  great  use.  In 
the  slate-quarries  at  Penrhyns  it  has  been  found 
far  superior  to  gunpowder.  A  huge  mass  of 
sixty  tons'  weight,  for  instance,  was  gently 
pushed  from  its  firmly  compacted  bed  by  the 
explosion  of  only  eight  ounces  of  cotton,  while 
the  slate  was  not  splintered.  In  other  great 
works  it  will  also  be  of  service.  In  a  cutting 
on  the  Syston  and  Peterborough  railway,  not  far 
from  Stamford,  experiments  showed  the  ave. 
rage  powers  of  the  gun-cotton  to  be  in  the 
proportion  of  one  to  six  of  gunpowder  ;  so  that, 
in  a  hard  freestone  foundation,  about  five  feet 
thick,  and  with  an  entire  depth  of  twenty-eight 
feet,  where  six  holes  were  necessary  for  gun- 
powder, only  one  was  required  for  gun-cotton. 
In  all  blasting  operations,  whether  in  open  cut- 
tings, tunnels,  or  deep  mines,  a  great  saving  of 
time,  labour,  and  cost,  is  thus  likely  to  be 
effected. 


CHAPTER    VI. 

Lipht  and  its  phenomena— Magic  pictures — The  optical  para- 
dox— Chinese  metallic  mirrors — Effect  of  an  optical  instru- 
ment on  a  superstitious  mind — Origin  of  photography — The 
Talbotype— The  Daguerreotype— Sunlight  pictures. 

The  cause  of  those  sensations  which  we  refer 
to  the  eyes,  or  that  which  produces  the  sense 
of  seeing,  is  light.  The  phenomena  of  vision 
have  always  been  regarded  as  among  the  most 
interesting  branches  of  natural  science.  The 
knowledge  of  the  laws  which  regulate  the  phe- 
nomena of  light,  constitutes  the  science  of  op- 
tics, which  explains  the  cause  of  many  most 
striking  illusions. 

Magic  pictures  have  been  produced,  which, 
when  seen  in  a  certain  point  through  a  glass, 
exhibit  an  object  different  from  that  be  held  by 
the  naked  eye.  Niceron  tells  us  that  he  ex- 
ecuted at  Paris,  and  deposited  in  the  library  of 
the  Minimes  of  the  Place  Royale,  a  picture  of 
this  kind  ;  when  seen  by  the  naked  eye,  it 
represented  fifteen  portraits  of  Turkish  sultans, 
but,  when  viewed  through  the  glass,  it  was  a 
portrait  of  Louis  xiii. 

87 


88 


PHENOMENA  OF  LIGHT. 


Tlie  writer  has  often  seen  a  singular  trans- 
formation effected  by  an  ingenious  device,  called 
the  optical  paradox :  thus  an  eagle  may  he 
changed  into  a  lion,  and  a  dog  into  a  cat. 

For  this  purpose, 
a  wooden  three- 
sided  box  must 
be  prepared,  and 
through  the  open 
part  may  slide  the 
various  drawings 
to  be  used,  as  b. 
Connected  with 
this,  there  must  be 
a  pillar,  c,  and 
a  horizontal  bar 
holding  a  tube,  d, 
having  in  it  a  glass  placed  exactly  over  the 
centre.  The  change  is  partly  dependent 
on  the  glass,  the  sides  of  which  are  flat  and 
diverge  from  its  hexagonal  base  upwards,  to  a 
E  point  in  the   axis   of  the  glass, 

r^^^  like  a  pyramid,  e,  forming  an 
^^^^  isosceles  triangle.  All  that  is 
now  necessary  to  the  completion 
of  the  change,  is  in  the  border  of  the  drawing, 
in  which  the  various  parts  required  for  the 
new  figure  are  cleverly  introduced  ;  so  that 
when  the  distance  of  the  glass  from  the  eye 
is  rightly  adjusted,  each  angular  side  will  take 
up  its  portion  from  the  border,  and  present  to 
the  eye  the  various  parts  in  an  entire  figure. 
The  shape  of  the  glass  prevents  the  appearance 


CHINESE  MAGIC  MIRRORS.  89 

of  any  particular  figure  in  the  centre,  as  the 
eagle,  for  instance;  while  the  lion,  arranged  in 
portions  and  drawn  on  the  circle  of  refraction 
at  six  different  parts  of  the  border,  yet  artfully 
disguised  by  blending  with  it,  the  transforma- 
tion will  be  completely  produced. 

A  paper  has  lately  been  read  to  the  Academy 
of  Sciences  at  Paris,  by  M.  Stanislaus  Julien, 
on  the  metallic  mirrors  made  in  China,  and  to 
which  the  name  of  "  magic  mirrors  "  has  been 
given.  Hitherto  all  attempts  by  Europeans  to 
obtain  information  as  to  the  process,  in  the 
localities  where  they  are  manuiactured,  have 
proved  failures,  some  of  the  persons  applied  to 
being  unwilling  to  reveal  the  secret,  and  others 
being  ignorant  of  the  process.  These  mirrors 
are  called  magical,  because,  if  they  receive  the 
rays  of  the  sun  on  their  polished  surface,  the 
characters,  or  flowers  in  relief,  which  exist  on 
the  other  side,  are  faithfully  reproduced.  The 
following  information  has  been  obtained  by  M. 
Julien,  from  the  writings  of  an  author  named 
Ou-tseu-hing,  who  lived  between  1260  and 
1341  : — "  The  cause  of  this  phenomenon  is  the 
distinct  use  of  fine  copper  and  rough  copper- 
If,  on  the  under  side,  there  be  produced,  by 
casting  in  a  mould,  the  figure  of  a  dragon  in  a 
circle,  there  is  then  engraved  deeply  on  the 
disc  a  dragon  exactly  similar.  Then,  the  parts 
which  have  been  cut  are  filled  with  rather 
rough  copper;  and  this  is,  by  the  action  of  fire, 
incorporated  with  the  other  metal,  which  is  of 
a  finer  nature.  The  face  of  the  mirror  is  next 
8* 


90  PHENOMENA  OF  LIGHT. 

prepared,  and  a  sliglit  coating  of  tin  is  spread 
over  it.  If  the  polished  disc  of  a  mirror  so 
prepared  be  turned  towards  the  sun,  and  the 
image  be  reflected  on  a  wall,  it  presents  dis- 
tinctly the  clear  portion  and  the  dark  portion, 
the  one  of  the  fine,  and  the  other  of  the  rough 
copper."  Ou-tseu-hing  states,  that  he  had 
ascertained  this  by  a  careful  inspection  of  the 
fragments  of  a  broken  mirror. 

It  is  easy  for  an  ignorant  and  superstitious 
mind  to  confound  a  very  harmless  and  simple 
instrument  with  one  of  magical  power.  We 
have  an  example  of  this  in  Dodwell's  descrip- 
tion of  his  residence  at  Athens.  On  his  first 
admission  within  the  venerable  walls  of  the 
Acropolis,  it  was  necessary  to  offer  a  small 
present  to  the  disdar,  or  Turkish  governor, 
and  an  additional  sum  to  make  drawings  and 
observations  without  being  molested  by  the 
servants  of  the  garrison.  The  disdar  proved 
to  be  a  man  of  bad  faith  and  insatiable  rapa- 
city, and,  after  experiencing  numerous  vexa- 
tions from  the  mercenary  Turk,  Dodvvell  was 
at  length  released  from  his  importunities  by  a 
singular  circumstance.  As  he  was  one  day 
engaged  in  drawing  the  Parthenon,  with  the 
aid  of  his  camera  obscura,  the  disdar,  whose 
surprise  was  excited  by  the  novelty  of  the 
sight,  asked,  with  a  sort  of  fretful  inquietude, 
what  new  conjuration  he  was  performing  with 
that  extraordinary  machine.  Dodwell  endea- 
voured to  explain  it,  by  putting  in  a  clean  sheet 
of  paper,  and  making  Jiim  look  at  the  instru- 


THE  DISDAR  PERPLEXED.  91 

ment ;  but  he  no  sooner  saw  the  Temple  of 
Minerva  reflected  on  the  paper  in  all  its  lines 
and  colours,  than  he  imagined  the  effect  was 
produced  bj  some  magical  process  ;  his  asto- 
nishment appeared  mingled  with  alarm,  and, 
stroking  his  long  black  beard,  he  repeated  seve- 
ral times  the  words  Allah,  Masch-AIlah — a  term 
of  admiration  with  the  Turks,  signifying  that 
which  is  made  by  God. 

Again  he  looked  into  the  camera  obscura, 
with  a  kind  of  cautious  diffidence,  and,  at  that 
moment,  some  of  his  soldiers  happening  to  pass 
before  the  reflecting-glass,  were  beheld  by  the 
astonished  disdar  walking  upon  the  paper. 
He  now  became  outrageous  ;  he  assailed  Dod- 
well  with  various  opprobrious  epithets,  one  of 
which  was  Bonaparte — the  appellation  being 
at  the  time  synonymous  to  that  of  magician,  or 
of  any  one  supposed  to  be  endowed  with  super- 
natural talents — and  declared  that,  if  Dodwell 
chose,  he  might  take  away  all  the  stones  in  the 
temple,  but  that  he  would  not  permit  his  sol- 
diers to  be  conjured  into  a  box.  "  When  I 
found,"  says  Dodwell,  "  that  it  was  no  use  to 
reason  with  his  ignorance,  I  changed  my  tone, 
and  told  him  that,  if  he  did  not  leave  me  un- 
molested, I  would  put  him  into  my  box  ;  and 
that  he  should  find  it  a  very  difficult  matter  to 
get  out  again.  His  alarm  was  now  visible  ; 
he  immediately  retired,  and  ever  after  stared 
at  me  with  a  mixture  of  apprehension  and 
amazement.  When  he  saw  me  come  to  the 
Acropolis,  he  carefully  avoided  my  approach ; 


92  PHENOMENA  OF  LIGHT. 

and   never   afterwards   gave   me   any   further 
molestation." 

The  portable  camera   obscura,   represented 
by  the  diagram,  has  often  yielded  much  plea- 


sure in  the  domestic  circle,  while  the  larger 
ones,  which  are  publicly  exhibited,  are  highly 
interesting.  No  person,  perhaps,  has  witnessed 
the  neatness  of  outline,  the  precision  of  form, 
the  truth  of  colouring,  and  the  sweet  gradations 
of  tint,  thus  apparent,  without  regretting  that 
an  imagery  so  exquisite  and  faithful  to  nature 
could  not  be  made  to  fix  itself  permanently  on 
the  tablet  of  the  machine.  Yet,  in  the  esti- 
mation of  all,  such  a  wish  seemed  destined  to 
take  its  place  among  other  dreams  of  beautiful 
things;  the  splendid  but  impracticable  con- 
ceptions in  which  men  of  science  and  ardent 
temperament  have  sometimes  indulged!  Such 
a  dream,  however,  has  been  realized  of  late. 

Mr.  Thomas  Wedgewood,  the  celebrated 
porcelain  manufacturer,  so  early  as  1-802,  pub- 
lished, in  the  journals  of  the  Koyal  Institution, 


EARLY  EXPERIMENTS  IN  PHOTOGRAPHY.  93 

a  method  of  copying  paintings  upon  glass,  and 
of  making  profiles  by  the  agency  of  light  upon 
nitrate  of  silver.  The  experiments  he  made 
were  repeated  by  sir  Humphry  Davy  ;  but 
several  years  after,  MM.  Niepce  and  Daguerre, 
and  Mr.  Fox  Talbot,  laid  the  foundation  of 
the  present  state  of  photographic  drawing. 
The  former  engaged  in  a  long  series  of  experi- 
ments to  render  metallic  surfaces  peculiarly 
sensitive;  the  aim  of  the  latter  was  to  produce 
this  effect  on  paper.  The  camera  obscura 
used  for  this  purpose  is  a  rectangular  box,  with 


a  double  convex  lens,  a,  at  one  end,  and  a 
glass  reflector,  b,  which  is  generally  a  piece  of 
looking-glass,  at  the  other.  Now,  supposing 
the  rays  of  light  to  proceed  from  an  extensive 
landscape,  and  pass  through  this  small  convex 
lens,  as  we  well  know  they  may  do,  what  will 
be  the  effect  produced  ?  The  scene  will,  in 
the  first  place,  be  thrown  on  the  reflector, 
which  is  fixed  at  an  angle  of  forty -five  degrees 
to  the  horizon.  Now  it  follows,  from  a  law 
well  known  to  opticians,  that  these  rays  will  be 
reflected  to  the  top  of  the  box,  immediately 
over  the  mirror;  so  that  if  a  ground  glass,  or 
any   other   medium   capable  of  receiving  the 


94  PHENOMENA  OF  LIGHT. 

reflected  image,  be  placed  there,  a  representa- 
tion of  tlie  landscape  may  be  observed.  As 
then,  it  is  proved,  by  innumerable  experiments, 
that  reflected  light  has,  in  proportion  to  its 
power,  as  much  influence  on  prepared  or  pho- 
tographic paper,  as  the  direct  rays  of  the  sun; 
it  follows  that,  if  a  piece  of  it  be  placed  in  the 
same  situation  as  the  ground  glass,  the  re- 
flected image,  be  it  a  landscape,  a  figure,  or  an 
artifii^ial  object,  will  be  Ibrmed  on  it.  All  that 
is,  therefore,  required  to  be  done,  in  using  the 
camera  obscura  for  photographic  drawing,  is  to 
place  upon  the  opening  at  the  top  of  the  box 
the  prepared  paper,  and  immediately  to  cover 
it  with  the  lid,  c,  so  that  it  may  not  be  acted 
upon  by  any  other  light  than  that  reflected 
from  the  mirror.  The  time  required  for  pro- 
ducing the  necessary  effect  will  depend  on 
several -circumstances,  such  as  the  preparation 
of  the  paper  and  the  intensity  of  the  light  when 
the  experiment  is  made;  the  latter,  however, 
is  by  far  the  more  important.  On  a  bright 
sun-shining  day,  the  drawing  will  be  produced 
in  one-half  the  time,  and  with  far  more  sharp 
ness  of  outline,  than  on  a  dull  wintry  day, 
when  the  sun  struggles  with  the  mists  by 
which  its  radiant  beams  are  encumbered. 
*'  The  Pencil  of  Nature,"  is  the  expressive  title 
of  a  collection  of  photographic  drawings,  pro- 
duced by  Mr.  Talbot.  Upon  the  third  part  of 
this  work,  we  find  the  following  acute  criticism 
in  the  Athe?iceum,  No.  920. 

"  The  subjects  are  '  The  Entrance  Gateway  of 


"  THE  PENCIL  OF  NATURE."  95 

Queen's  College,  Oxford ;'  *  The  Ladder,'  in 
which  we  have  three  figures  from  the  life ; 
and  *  A  View  of  the  Author's  Residence, 
Lacock  Abbey,  in  Wiltshire.'  In  the  first  of 
these,  the  truth- telling  character  of  photo- 
graphic pictures  is  pleasingly  shown.  It  ap- 
pears, by  the  turret  clock,  that  the  view  was 
taken  a  little  after  two,  when  the  sun  was  shin- 
ing obliquely  upon  the  building.  The  story  of 
every  stone  is  told,  and  the  crumbling  of  its 
surface  under  the  action  of  atmospheric  influ- 
ences is  distinctly  marked.  The  figures  in 
*  The  Ladder '  are  prettily  arranged,  but  the 
face  of  the  boy  is  distorted,  from  the  circum- 
stance of  its  being  so  very  near  the  edge  of  tlie 
field  of  view  embraced  by  the  lens  of  the 
camera  obscura.  In  looking  at  this  photo- 
graph, we  are  led  at  once  to  reflect  on  the  truth 
to  nature  observed  by  Rembrandt,  in  the  dis- 
position of  his  lights  and  shadows.  We  have 
no  violent  contrasts;  even  the  highest  lights 
and  the  deepest  shadows  seem  to  melt  into  each 
other,  and  the  middle  tints  are  but  the  har- 
monizing gradations.  Without  the  aid  of 
colour,  with  simple  brown  and  white,  so  charm- 
ing a  result  is  produced,  that,  looking  at  the 
picture  from  a  little  distance,  we  are  almost  led 
to  fancy  that  the  introduction  of  colour  would 
add  nothing  to  its  charm." 

The  following  is  the  patent  process  for  ob- 
taining a  negative  picture  : — Take  a  sheet  of 
paper,  with  a  smooth  surface,  and  a  close  and 
even  texture,  and  without  the  water-mark,  and 


96  PHENOMENA  OF  LIGHT. 

wash  one  side  of  it,  by  means  of  a  soft  camel's- 
hair  brush,  with  a  solution  composed  of  one 
hundred  grains  of  crystalHzed  nitrate  of  silver 
dissolved  in  six  ounces  of  distilled  water, 
having  previously  marked  with  a  cross  the  side 
which  is  to  be  washed.  When  the  paper  has 
been  dried  cautiously  at  the  fire,  or  spon- 
taneously in  the  dark,  immerse  it  for  a  few 
minutes  (two  minutes,  at  a  temperature  of 
sixty-five  degrees,)  in  a  solution  of  iodide  of 
potassium,  consisting  of  five  hundred  grains  to 
one  pint  of  distilled  water.  The  paper  is  then 
to  be  dipped  in  water,  and  then  dried,  by  ap- 
plying blotting-paper  to  it  lightly,  and  after- 
wards exposing  it  to  the  heat  of  a  fire,  or 
allowing  it  to  dry  spontaneously.  The  paper 
thus  prepared  is  called  iodized  paper,  and  may 
be  kept  for  any  length  of  time  in  a  portfolio 
not  exposed  to  light.  When  a  sheet  of  paper 
is  required  for  use,  wash  it  with  the  following 
solution,  which  we  shall  call  No.  1 ;  take  one 
hundred  grains  of  nitrate  of  silver,  dissolved  in 
two  ounces  of  distilled  water,  and  add  to  this 
one-third  of  its  volume  of  stroijg  acetic  acid. 
Make  another  solution,  No.  2,  by  dissolving 
crystallized  gallic  acid  in  cold  distilled  water, 
and  then  mix  the  two  solutions  together  in 
equal  proportions,  and  in  no  greater  quantity 
than  is  required  for  immediate  use,  as  it  will 
not  keep  long  without  spoiling.  This  mixture, 
called  gallo-nitrate  of  silver,  by  the  patentee, 
is  then  to  be  spread,  by  a  soft  camel's-hair 
brush,  on  the  marked  side  of  the  iodized  paper; 


"  THE  PENCIL  OF  NATURE."  97 

and,  after  allowing  the  paper  to  remain  half- 
a-minute  to  absorb  the  solution,  it  should  be 
dipped  in  distilled  water  and  dried  lightly ;  first 
with  blotting-paper,  and  then  by  holding  the 
paper  at  a  considerable  distance  from  the  fire. 
When  dry,  the  paper  is  ready,  and  it  is  ad- 
visable to  use  it  within  a  few  hours. 

The  paper,  which  is  highly  sensitive  to  light, 
must  now  be  placed  in  the  camera  obscura,  in 
order  to  receive  on  its  marked  surface  a  dis- 
tinct image  of  the  landscape  or  person  whose 
picture  is  required.  After  remaining  in  the 
camera  from  ten  seconds  to  several  minutes, 
according  to  the  intensity  of  the  light,  it  is 
taken  out  of  the  camera  in  a  dark  room.  If 
the  object  has  been  strongly  illuminated,  or  if 
the  paper  has  been  long  in  the  camera,  a  sen- 
sible picture  will  be  seen  on  the  paper;  but,  if 
the  time  of  exposure  has  been  short,  or  the 
illumination  feeble,  the  paper  will  "  appear 
entirely  blank."  An  invisible  image,  however, 
is  impressed  on  the  paper,  and  may  be  ren- 
dered apparent  by  the  following  process  : — 
Take  some  of  the  gallo-nitrate  of  silver,  and, 
with  a  soft  camel's-hair  brush,  wash  the  paper 
all  over  with  this  liquid,  then  hold  it  before  a 
gentle  fire,  and,  in  a  short  time,  the  image  will 
begin  to  appear;  and  those  parts  upon  which 
the  light  has  acted  most  strongly  will  become 
brown  or  black,  while  the  others  remain  white. 
The  image  continues  to  grow  more  and  more 
distinct  for  some  time,  and,  when  it  becomes 
sufficiently  so,  the  operation  must  be  terminated, 
9 


98  PHENOMENA  OF  LIGHT. 

and  the  picture  fixed.  In  order  to  effect  this, 
the  paper  must  Vie  dipped  first  into  water,  then 
partly  dried  by  blotting-paper,  and  afterwards 
washed  with  a  solution  of  bromide  of  potassium, 
consisting  of  one  hundred  grains  of  the  salt, 
dissolved  in  eight  or  ten  ounces  of  water.  The 
picture  is  then  finally  washed  in  water  and 
dried  as  before.  In  place  of  bromide  of  pot- 
assium, a  strong  solution  of  common  salt  may 
be  used. 

By  this  process  we  get  a  negative  picture — 
having  the  lights  dark  and  the  shades  light — 
and  from  it  positive  pictures  may  be  obtained  as 
follows : — Dip  a  sheet  of  good  paper  in  a  solution 
of  common  salt,  consisting  of  one  part  of  a  satu- 
rated solution,  to  eight  parts  of  water,  and  dry 
it  first  with  blotting-paper,  and  then  spontane- 
ously. Mark  one  of  its  sides,  and  wash  that  side 
with  a  solution  of  nitrate  of  silver,  Avhich  we 
shall  call  No.  3,  consisting  of  eighty  grains  of 
salt,  to  one  ounce  of  distilled  water.  When  this 
paper  is  dry,  place  it  with  its  marked  side 
uppermost  on  a  flat  board  or  surface  of  any 
kind,  and  above  it  put  the  negative  picture, 
which  should  be  pressed  against  the  nitrated  or 
positive  paper  by  means  of  a  glass  plate  and 
screws.  In  the  course  of  ten  or  fitleen  minutes 
of  a  bright  sunshine,  or  of  several  hours  of 
common  daylight,  a  fine  positive  pichire  will  be 
found  on  the  paper  beneath  the  negative  picture. 
When  this  picture  has  been  well  washed  or 
soaked  in  water,  it  is  washed  over  with  the 
solution    of    bromide    of    potassium,    already 


I 


THE  DAGUEHREOTYPE.  99 

mentioned,  or  plunged  in  a  strong  solution  of 
common  salt.* 

A  singular  result  of  the  application  of  this 
invention  occurred  to  an  accomplished  traveller, 
who  ascended  Mount  Etna,  in  order  to  obtain 
representations  of  that  remarkable  volcano.  No 
sooner  was  the  camera  fixed  on  the  edge  of  the 
crater,  and  the  sensitive  paper  introduced,  than 
a  partial  irruption  took  place,  and  the  traveller 
had  to  fly  for  his  life.  On  the  cessation  of  the 
irruption,  he  returned;  doubtless,  with  the  ex- 
pectation of  merely  collecting  the  fragments  of 
his  valuable  instrument;  when,  to  his  great 
astonishment  and  delight,  he  discovered  not 
only  that  his  camera  was  absolutely  uninjured, 
but  that  it  contained  an  admirable  representa- 
tion of  the  crater  and  the  irruption. 

A  brief  account  of  the  process  of  the  Daguer- 
reotype may  now  be  given.  A  plate  of  silvered 
copper,  about  as  thick  as  a  shilling,  is  well 
cleaned  and  polished  by  rubbing  it  with  cotton, 
tine  pumice  powder,  and  dilute  nitric  acid,  and 
afterwards  exposed  to  the  heat  of  a  spirit-lamp, 
placed  below  it,  till  a  strong  white  coating  is 
formed  on  the  polished  surface.  On  the  plate 
being  cooled  suddenly  by  means  of  a  cold  slab 
of  stone  or  of  metal,  the  white  coating  is  re- 
moved by  repeatedly  polishing  it  with  dry 
pumice  and  cotton,  and  then  three  times  more 
with  the  dilute  nitric  acid  and  pumice  powder. 

A  careful  cleaning  being  thus  given  to  the 
plate,  it  is  placed  in  a  box  containing  iodine,  till 
*  North  British  Review. 


100  '     PHENOMENA  OF  LIGHT. 

it  becomes  visibly  covered  with  a  golden  film 
of  that  substance,  which  must  neither  be  pale 
nor  purple.  It  is  then  placed  in  the  camera 
till  a  distinct  picture  of  whatever  appears 
before  it  is  formed  upon  the  surface ;  it  remains 
there  for  a  period  depending  on  the  intensity  of 
the  light,  and  is  then  removed  to  a  metallic  box, 
having  in  it  a  cup  containing  at  least  three 
ounces  of  mercury.  Placed  below  the  cup  is  a 
spirit-lamp,  which  throws  off  the  mercurial 
vapour ;  and,  in  exact  proportion  as  this  vapour 
deposits  itself  on  the  parts  of  the  plate  which 
have  been  acted  upon  by  the  light,  is  the 
picture  developed  on  the  surface  of  the  plate, 
by  the  adhesion  of  the  white  mercurial  vapour 
to  the  different  parts  which  had  been  impressed 
by  the  light.  As  soon  as  the  picture  appears 
complete,  the  plate  is  placed  in  a  trough  of 
sheet-copper,  containing  either  a  saturated 
solution  of  common  salt,  or  a  weak  solution  of 
hyposulphite  of  soda.  Thus,  the  coating  of 
iodine  will  be  dissolved,  the  yellow  colour  quite 
disappearing;  hot,  but  not  boiling,  distilled 
water  is  then  poured  over  the  plate,  and  any 
drops  which  remain  are  removed  by  blowing 
upon  them. 

The  picture  being  now  finished,  is  preserved 
from  dust  by  placing  it  in  a  frame,  and  covering 
it  with  glass.  In  every  successful  operation, 
the  picture  is  almost  as  perfect  in  its  details  as 
that  of  the  camera  obscura  itself;  but,  as  the 
light  of  the  sun  is  only  white,  there  can  be,  of 
course,  none  of  the  varied  tints  of  nature.     The 


THE  DAGUERREOTYPE.  101 

shades  are  supplied  by  the  black  polish  of  the 
metallic  surface  which,  when  it  reflects  a  lumin- 
ous object,  the  white  vapour  of  the  mercury 
appears  in  shade,  and  thus  gives  us  either  a 
positive  or  a  negative  picture,  according  to  the 
light  in  which  it  is  viewed. 

Various  improvements  have  gradually  been 
made  in  the  processes  of  the  Daguerreotype  and 
the  Talbotype,  which  our  limited  space  forbids  us 
to  describe.  Mr.  Beard  has  added  colour  to  his 
Daguerreotype  portraits,  which  is  uniform  and 
so  transparent  as  not  to  affect  the  likeness  in 
any  degree,  while  the  life-like  effect  is  greatly 
heightened.  M.  Claudet  has  found  that,  when 
the  sun  is  rendered  red  by  the  vapours  of  the 
atmosphere,  it  not  only  produces  no  effect  upon 
the  Daguerreotype  plate,  but  that  it  destroys  the 
effect  previously  produced  by  the  white  light. 
If  the  image  of  the  red  sun  be  taken  in  the 
camera  obscura,  it  produces  upon  the  Daguer- 
reotype plate  a  black  image.  By  covering  a 
Daguerreotype  plate  previously  affected  by  light 
with  a  red,  orange,  or  yellow  glass,  the  radiation 
through  these  coloured  media  has  also  the  pro- 
perty of  destroying  the  action  produced  by 
white  light.  The  most  interesting  part  of  M. 
Claudet's  statement  refers  to  the  fact  that,  after 
the  destroying  action  of  the  red,  orange,  and 
yellow  radiations,  the  plate  is  restored  to  its 
former  sensitiveness ;  so  that,  after  having  been 
affected  by  white  light,  and  restored  by  the 
destructive  action  of  the  red,  orange,  and  yellow 
radiations,  it  is  possible  to  produce  a  photogra- 
9* 


102  PHENOMENA  OF  LIGHT. 

phic  effect,  as  upon  a  plate  just  prepared  with 
iodine  and  bromine.  This  alternate  actino;  and 
destroying  action  may  be  repeated  ad  infinitum^ 
without  altering  the  final  state  of  the  plate. 
This  curious  fact  proves,  evidently,  that,  in  the 
Daguerreotype  process,  light  does  not  alter  the 
chemical  compound  on  the  plate,  and  that  the 
aflinity  for  mercury  is  the  result  of  some  new 
property  imparted  by  the  action  of  the  rays  of 
light.  M.  Claudet's  experiments  prove,  also, 
that  the  red  and  yellow  rays  are  endowed  with 
a  photographic  action  of  their  own,  which,  as 
well  as  that  of  the  blue  and  violet  rays,  gives 
an  affinity  for  mercurial  vapour.  The  photo- 
graphic action  of  the  red  ray  is  destroyed  by 
the  yellow,  that  of  the  yellow  by  the  red;  the 
red  and  yellow  destroy  the  photographic  action 
of  the  blue,  and  the  blue  destroys  the  action  of 
the  others.  The  photographic,  or  the  destroying 
action  of  any  particular  ray  cannot  be  continued 
by  any  other.  It  appears,  therefore,  that  each 
radiation  changes  the  state  of  the  plate,  and 
each  change  produces  the  sensitiveness,  to 
mercurial  vapour  when  it  does  not  exist,  and 
destroys  this  sensitiveness  when  it  does  exist.* 

M.  Eegnault  has  laid  before  the  Academy  of 
Sciences,  at  Paris,  some  photographic  specimens 
on  paper,  obtained  by  M.  Blanquart-Evrard,  by 
a  modification  of  the  usual  process.  In  the 
preparations  hitherto  described,  one  part  of  the 
process  presented  serious  difficulties,  namely, 
that  of  the  use  of  gallic  acid  in  order  to  produce 
*  Literary  Gazette. 


THE  CHROMATYPE.  103 

the  impression.  It  happened  frequently,  that  a 
proof  taken  in  too  mild  a  light,  or  of  too  large 
dimensions,  could  not  receive  the  necessary 
force  before  disappearing,  as  it  may  be  said, 
imder  the  uniform  colour  produced  by  the 
mixture  of  the  gallic  acid  with  the  aceto-nzotate 
of  silver,  with  which  the  paper  is  imbued. 
After  having  ascertained  that  the  gallic  acid 
produces  this  uniform  colour  on  the  impression, 
only  because  it  is  combined  in  small  quantity 
with  the  aceto-azotate  of  silver,  M.  Blanquart- 
Evrard  removes  all  the  difficulty.  After  taking 
the  proof  from  the  camera  obscura,  he  plunges 
it  into  a  vessel  of  large  dimensions,  covered 
with  a  layer  of  one  centimetre  of  gallic  acid  of 
cold  saturation.  The  bath  is  agitated  during 
the  immersion;  and  the  action  may  be  thus 
prolonged  until  the  impression  has  obtained 
the  necessary  force  to  secure  a  good  result. 
The  proof  is  then  washed,  and  the  gallic  acid 
is  replaced  by  a  solution  of  bromure  of  potas- 
sium, or  chloruret  of  sodium,  in  which  it  is  left 
for  about  a  quarter-of-an-hour.* 

The  chromatype,  discovered  by  Mr.  Hunt, 
consists  in  washing  good  letter-paper  with  the 
folloAving  solution : — 

Bi-chromate  of  potash  ...  10  grains 
Sulphate  of  copper     ....  20  grains 

Distilled  water 1  ounce 

Papers  prepared  with  this  are  of  a  pale  yel- 
low colour;  they  may  be  kept  for  any  length  of 
time  without  injmy,  and  are  always  ready  for 
*  Athenaeum. 


104  PHENOMENA  OF  LIGHT. 

use.  For  copying  botanical  specimens  or  en- 
gravings, nothing  can  be  more  beautiful.  After 
the  paper  has  been  exposed  to  the  influence  of 
sunshine,  with  the  objects  to  be  copied  super- 
posed, it  is  washed  over  in  the  dark  with  a 
solution  of  nitrate  of  silver  of  moderate  strength. 
As  soon  as  this  is  done,  a  very  vivid  positive 
picture  makes  its  appearance ;  and  all  the 
fixing  these  photographic  pictures  require  is, 
well  washing  in  pure  water. 

M.  Niepce  de  St.  Victor  finds  that,  if  a  sheet 
of  paper  on  which  there  is  writing,  printed 
characters,  or  a  drawing,  be  exposed  for  a  few 
minutes  to  the  vapour  of  iodine,  and  there  be 
applied  immediately  afterwards  a  coating  of 
starch,  moistened  by  slightly  acidulated  water, 
a  faithful  tracing  of  the  writing,  printing,  or 
drawing,  will  be  obtained.  M.  Niepce  has  also 
discovered  that  a  great  number  of  substances, 
such  as  nitric  acid,  chlorurets  of  lime  and 
mercury,  act  in  a  similar  manner;  and  that 
various  vapours,  particularly  those  of  ammonia, 
have  the  effect  of  vivifying  the  images  which 
are  obtained  by  photography. 

In  the  words  of  a  writer  in  the  North  British 
Beview: — "While  the  artist  is  thus  supplied 
with  every  material  for  his  creative  genius, 
the  public  will  derive  a  new  and  immediate 
advantage  from  the  productions  of  th-e  solar 
pencil.  The  home-faring  man — whom  fate  or 
duty  chains  to  his  birth-place,  or  imprisons  in 
his  fatherland — will,  without  the  fatigues  and 
dangers  of  travel,  scan  the  beauties  and  wonders 


SUNLIGHT  PICTURES.  105 

of  the  globe ;  not  in  the  fantastic  or  deceitful 
images  of  a  hurried  pencil,  but,  in  the  very 
picture  which  would  have  been  painted  on  his 
own  retina,  were  he  magically  transported  to 
the  scene.  The  gigantic  outline  of  the  Himalaya 
and  the  Andes  will  stand  self-depicted  upon 
his  borrowed  retina — the  Niagara  will  pour 
out  before  him,  in  panoramic  grandeur,  her 
mighty  cataract  of  waters,  while  the  flaming 
volcano  will  toss  into  the  air  her  clouds  of  dust 
and  her  blazing  fragments.  The  scene  will 
change,  and  there  will  rise  before  him  Egypt's 
colossal  pyramids,  the  temples  of  Greece  and 
Eome,  and  the  gilded  mosques  and  towering 
minarets  of  eastern  magnificence.  But  with 
not  less  wonder,  and  with  a  more  eager  and 
affectionate  gaze,  will  he  survey  those  hallowed 
scenes  which  faith  has  consecrated  and  love 
endeared.  Painted  in  its  cheerless  tints.  Mount 
Zion  will  stand  before  him,  '  as  a  field  that  is 
ploughed ;'  Tyre,  as  a  rock  on  which  the  fisher- 
men dry  their  nets  ;  Gaza,  in  her  prophetic 
*  baldness  ;'  Lebanon,  with  her  cedars  prostrate 
among  *  the  howling  firs ;'  Nineveh  made  as  a 
grave,  'and  seen  only  in  the  turf  that  covers  it;' 
and  Babylon  the  great,  the  golden  city,  with  its 
impregnable  walls,  its  hundred  gates  of  brass, 
now  '  sitting  in  the  dust,  cast  up  as  an  heap,' 
covered  with  '  pools  of  water,'  and  without 
even  the  '  Arab's  tent,'  or  the  '  shepherd's  fold.' 
But  though  it  is  only  Palestine  in  desolation 
that  a  modern  sun  can  delineate,  3'et  the  seas 
which   bore   on   their  breast   the  Divine  lie- 


108  ACTION  OF  HEAT. 

\lan3  made  many  Jittempts  to  obtain  possession 
of  the  lens  in  order  to  destroy  it,  and  deliver 
themselves  from  the  iy)wer  of  that  which  they 
regarded  as  able  to  brin^  upon  them  the  ven- 
geance of  the  gods. 

Much  surprise  has  sometimes  been  awakened 
by  an  apparent  insensibility  to  intense  heat. 
An  instance  of  this  occurred  "Vihen  a  rivalry 
existed  between  the  Augustine  iiiars  and  the 
Jesuits.  The  father-general  of  the  Auo-ustine 
friars  was  dining  with  the  Jesuits;  axid,  when 
the  table  was  removed,  he  entered  into  a  formal 
discourse  of  the  superiority  of  the  monastic 
order,  and  charged  the  Jesuits  with  assuring 
the  title  of  "/raires,"  while  they  held  not  tho 
three  vows  which  other  monks  were  obliged  to 
consider  sacred  and  binding.  The  general  of 
the  Augustine  friars  was  very  eloquent  and 
very  authoritative — and  the  superior  of  the 
Jesuits  was  very  unlearned. 

The  Jesuit  avoided  entering  the  lists  of  con- 
troversy with  the  Augustine  friar,  but  arrested 
his  triumph  by  asking  him  if  he  would  see  one 
of  his  friars,  who  pretended  to  be  nothing  more 
than  a  Jesuit,  and  one  of  the  Augustine  friars 
who  religiously  performed  the  three  vows,  show 
instantly  which  of  them  would  be  readier  to 
obey  his  superior  ? 

The  Augustine  friar  consented.  The  Jesuit 
then  turning  to  one  of  his  brothers,  the  friar 
Mark,  who  was  waiting  upon  them,  said, 
"  Brother  Mark,  our  companions  are  cold  ;  I 
command  you,  in  virtue  of  the  holy  obedience 


THE  JESUITS.  109 

you  have  sworn  to  me,  to  bring  liere,  instantly, 
out  of  the  kitchen-fire,  and  in  your  hands,  some 
burning  coals,  that  they  may  warm  themselves 
over  your  hands."  Father  Mark  instantly 
obeyed;  and,  tothe  astonishment  of  the  Augustine 
friar,  brought  in  his  hands  a  supply  of  red 
burning  coals,  and  held  them  to  whoever  chose 
to  warm  himself;  and,  at  the  command  of  his 
superior,  returned  them  to  the  kitchen  hearth. 
The  general  of  the  Augustine  friars,  with  the 
rest  of  his  brotherhood,  stood  amazed;  he  looked 
wistfully  on  one  of  his  monks,  as  if  he  Avished 
to  command  him  to  do  the  like.  But  the 
Augustine  monk,  who  perfectly  understood  him, 
and  saw  this  was  not  a  time  to  hesitate,  ob- 
served, "  Eeverend  father,  forbear,  and  do  not 
command  me  to  tempt  God  :  I  am  ready  to 
fetch  you  fire  in  a  chaffing-dish,  but  not  in  my 
bare  hands."  The  triumph  of  the  Jesuits  was 
complete,  and  it  is  not  necessary  to  add,  that 
"  the  miracW  was  noJ^sed  about,  and  that  the 
Augustine  friars  co^dd  never  account  for  it, 
notwithstanding  their  strict  performance  of  the 
three  vows !  And  yet  here  was  no  mystery. 
According  to  sir  James  Mackintosh,  "In  the 
Mercure  de  France^  there  is  a  very  curious 
account  ci  experiments  made  at  Naples  to 
discover  the  means  by  which  jugglers  have 
appeared  to  be  incombustible.  They  seem  to 
be  completely  discovered,  and  chiefly  to  consist 
in,  first,  gradually  habituating  the  skin,  the 
mouth,  throat,  and  stomach,  to  great  degrees  of 
heat;  second,  in  rubbing  the  skin  with  hard 
10 


110  ACTTON  OF  HEAT. 

soap,  and  in  covering  the  tongue  witli  hard 
soap,  and  over  that  with  a  layer  of  powdered 
sugar.  By  these  means,  the  professor  at  Naples 
is  enabled  to  walk  over  burning  coals,  to  take 
into  his  mouth  boiling  oil,  and  to  wash  his 
hands  in  melted  lead.  The  miracles  of  several 
saints,  the  numerous  escapes  from  the  fiery 
ordeal,  and  tricks  now  played  by  the  Hindoo 
jugglers,  are  thus  perfectly  explained;  and  all 
these  prodigies  may  be  performed  in  a  fortnight 
by  any  apothecary's  apprentice." 

Other  instances  of  endurance  are  merely 
pretended.  In  country  places,  a  conjurer  some- 
times appears  in  the  streets,  professing  that  he 
is  able  to  ^at  fire  ;  and  yet  he  only  rolls 
together  a  ba\l  of  flax  or  hemp,  lights  it,  rolls 
round  it  some  laore  of  the  same  material,  slips 
it  cunningly  into  his  mouth,  and  breathes 
through  it  to  revive  the  flame;  and  so  long 
as  he  inspires  the  air  Uirough  the  nostrils,  and 
not  through  the  mouth,  he  suffers  no  injury. 
A  performer,  named  Eichaidson,  in  the  seven- 
teenth century,  pretended  to  pour  melted  lead 
upon  his  tongue  ;  but  it  is  probable  that  he 
used  the  fusible  metal  formed  of  bismuth,  tin, 
and  lead,  which  melts  at  a  low  tpmperature, 
and  which  the  writer  has  seen  fused  on  a  card, 
and  poured  into  the  hand  with  impunity  by  a 
person  accustomed  to  handle  hot  substances. 

Not  many  years  ago,  a  man  named  Chaubert 
professed  to  be  incombustible ;  but  it  has  been 
proved  that  the  human  body  is  capable  of 
bearing  a  very  high  degree  of  heat.     Men  of 


THE  GIANYS'  CAUSEWAY.  Ill 

unquestionable  integrity  have  surpassed  all  his 
wonders.  Sir  Charles  Blagden  exposed  him- 
self in  a  heated  room  where  the  heat  was  one 
or  two  degrees  above  260°,  and  remained  eight 
minutes  in  this  situation.  Eggs  and  a  beef- 
steak were  placed  on  a  tin  frame,  near  the 
thermometer,  and  in  the  space  of  twenty  mi- 
nutes the  eggs  were  roasted  quite  hard,  and  in 
forty-seven  minutes  the  steak  was  not  only 
dressed,  but  almost  dry.  Another  beef-steak, 
similarly  placed,  was  rather  over-done  in 
thirty-three  minutes.  Chantrey,  the  celebrated 
sculptor,  accompanied  by  five  or  six  friends, 
also  entered  a  furnace,  and,  after  remaining 
two  minutes,  brought  out  a  thermometer  which 
stood  at  320".  Some  pain  was  experienced  in 
this  experiment,  but  it  placed  beyond  all 
doubt  that  the  human  body  has  a  remarkable 
power  of  enduring  heat.  Chaubert  excited 
much  wonder  by  taking  phosphorus  into  his 
mouth  ;  but,  as  that  substance,  when  deprived 
of  air,  will  not  burn,  he  always  closed  his  lips, 
and  retired  to  eject  the  phosphorus  immediately 
afterwards. 

We  turn  now  from  the  resistance  of  heat  by 
chemical  means,  to  some  striking  examples  of 
its  power. 

The  name  of  the  Giants'  Causeway  arose,  pro- 
bably, from  an  idea  of  the  supernatural  power, 
entertained  in  times  of  ignorance  and  super- 
stition. And  yet  it  is  demonstrated  that  vast 
masses  of  rock  are  to  be  traced  to  causes 
strictly  natural.     Basalt   is  of   very  frequent 


112  ACTION  OF  HEAT. 

occurrence  on  the  surface  of  the  globe,  and  is 
frequently  detected  in  a  variety  of  volcanoes, 
both  extinct  and  active.  The  greatest  mass  of 
basalt  hitherto  observed  is  that  in  the  Deccan, 
which  constitutes  the  surface  of  many  thousand 
square  miles  of  that  part  of  India.  In  other 
instances,  it  occurs  in  horizontal  tabular  masses, 
and  is  columnar.  Sometimes,  the  basaltic 
columns  are  curved,  and  of  this  there  is  a 
beautiful  example  in  the  island  of  Staffa. 
Now  basalt  is  not  a  crystalline  substance,  for  as 
it  is  not  capable,  as  all  crystals  are,  of  cleavage 
in  the  line  of  its  planes,  or  at  some  angle  with 
them,  it  is  concretional.  Its  structure  resem- 
bles an  onion,  or  any  bulbous  root,  for,  in  the 
centre,  is  a  solid  mass,  about  which  are  others 
just  like  the  parts  of  the  vegetable  products 
already  mentioned.  These  portions  of  basalt 
are  at  first  of  an  oval  form,  and  then  they 
gradually  become  rudely  hexagonal.  Some 
non-columnar  basalts  show  no  trace  of  any 
particular  arrangement  of  parts,  while  others 
have  a  globular  structure,  so  that  when  the 
Tock  becomes  much  decomposed,  it  has  the 
appearance  of  numerous  bomb-shells  and  can- 
non-balls cemented  together. 

Here,  then,  we  have  an  extraordinary  effect 
of  heat.  Mr.  Gregory  Watt  took  seven  hundred 
weight  of  the  substance  named  rowley  rag, 
kept  it  in  fusion  more  than  six  hours,  and 
cooled  it  so  gradually,  that  eight  days  elapsed 
before  it  was  taken  from  the  furnace.  The 
shape  of  the  mass  was  uneven    and  while  the 


THE  GIANTS*  CAUSEWAY.  113 

thinner  portion  was,  in  consequence  of  more 
rapid  cooling,  vitreous,  the  thicker  was  stony  ; 
the  one  state  passing  into  the  other.  Numerous 
spheroids  were  also  formed,  some  being  two 
inches  in  diameter.  They  were  radiated  with 
distinct  fibres,  the  latter  also  forming  concentric 
coats,  when  circumstances  were  favourable  to 
such  an  arrangement.  When  the  temperature 
had  been  sufficiently  continued,  the  centres  of 
the  spheroids  became  compacted  before  they 
had  attained  the  diameter  of  half-an-inch. 
When  two  spheroids  came  into  contact,  no 
penetration  ensued ;  but  the  two  bodies  became 
mutually  compressed  and  separated  by  a  plane, 
well  defined,  and  invested  with  a  rusty  colour. 
When  several  met,  they  formed  prisms.  In 
reasoning  on  these  facts,  Mr.  G.  Watt  observes : 
"  In  a  stratum  composed  of  an  indefinite  number 
in  superficial  extent,  but  only  one  in  height, 
of  impenetrable  spheroids,  if  their  peripheries 
should  come  in  contact  in  the  same  plane,  it 
seems  obvious  that  their  mutual  action  would 
form  them  into  hexagons  ;  and  if  these  were 
resisted  below,  and  there  was  no  opposing  cause 
above  them,  it  seems  equally  clear  that  they 
would  extend  their  dimensions  upwards,  and 
thus  form  hexagonal  prisms,  whose  length 
might  be  indefinitely  greater  than  their  dia- 
meters." 

That  the  great  power  in  operation  in  the 
formation  of  basaltic  columns  is  heat,  appears 
to  be  indisputable.  There  is,  for  example,  a 
bed    of   sandstone   in    furnaces   for   smelting 

10* 


114  ACTION  OF  HEAT. 

metals,  and,  in  the  course  of  time,  it  requires 
to  be  repaired.  Portions,  taken  out,  on  such 
occasions,  have  been  found  to  have  a  cohimnar 
appearance  :  the  heat  of  the  furnace  having 
changed  the  form  of  the  substance,  not  by  any 
fusion  of  its  parts,  but  by  a  pecuhar  arrange- 
ment of  them,  thus  giving  them  the  specified 
figure. 

Another  astonishing  result  of  this  natural 
power  is  seen  in  the  eruption  of  a  volcano. 
The  eye  of  a  traveller,  perhaps,  as  it  is  turned 
towards  Vesuvius,  discerns  a  dark  red  spot  on 
the  mountain's  side,  issuing  from  an  orifice  near 
to  the  crater.  But  soon,  that  deep  burning 
light  apparently  spreads  out,  or  flows  on  into  a 
long  wide  stream,  descends  the  entire  length  of 
the  great  cone,  and  reaches  to  the  plain  below. 
But,  as  the  first  light  was  seen  through  and 
behind  the  mists  which  follow  the  departure  of 
the  sun,  so  now  its  extended  influence  is  only 
rendered  visible  by  the  increasing  gloom.  But, 
as  the  eye  is  still  attracted  towards  this  re- 
markable eminence,  a  pillar  of  fire  is  seen 
rising  up  from  the  crater  high  into  the  air; 
while  innumerable  lights  appear,  like  so  many 
natural  fire-works  rushing  upwards,  and  falling 
in  a  glowing  shower,  on  the  outer  sides  of  the 
crater,  which  soon  present  the  aspect  of  a  heap 
of  fire.  Large  and  red-hot  stones  are  flung 
forth  from  time  to  time,  from  the  same  troubled 
source,  to  fall,  roll  down  the  sides  of  the  crater, 
and  lose  their  brightness. 

Mountains  that  are  liable  to  volcanic  action, 


VOLCANOES  OF  THE  MOLUCCAS.       115 

before  an  eruption  takes  place,  are   generally 
the  most  fertile,  and  the  most  attractive  of  all 
eminences.       Illustrations   of  this   remark  are 
found  upon  a  magnificent  scale  in  Mexico;  and, 
among  the  rest,  that  of  Jorullo,  in  the  extensive 
intendency   of  Valladolid,'  lying  on   the   Avest 
coast  of  America,  between  the  intendencies  of 
Mexico  and  Guadalaxara,  (pronounced  Quada- 
lahara.)    Mechoacan,  a  part  of  it,  is  an  expanse 
of  table-land  which  enjoys  a  fine  and  temperate 
climate,  and  is  intersected  with  hills  and  charm- 
ing valleys,   presenting  an  appearance  unusual 
in  the  torrid  zone,  of  extensive  and  well-watered 
meadows.     On  the  twenty- ninth  of  September, 
1759,  from  the  centre  of  a  thousand  burning 
cones  was  thrown  up  the  volcano  of  Jorullo;  a 
mountain  of  scorisB  and  ashes,  seventeen  hun- 
dred feet  high,  in  an  extensive  plain,  and  covered 
•with  most  luxuriant  vegetation.     When  plains, 
hills,  and  valleys,  are  thus  spoken  of,  the  reader 
should  remember,  that  all  of  them  are  reared 
upon  the  lofty  chain  of  the  Andes,  for  volcanic 
eruptions  only,  so  far  as  we  know,  take  place 
in  mountainous  regions. 

But  some  of  the  most  remarkable  examples 
are  to  be  met  with  in  the  Spice  Islands,  or 
Moluccas.  The  pointed  and  conical  mountains, 
which  characterize  this  group  of  islands,  exhibit 
great  fertility.  Nothing  can  surpass  the  rich- 
ness of  vegetation  with  which  their  sides  are 
covered,  nor  the  balmy  heulthfulness  of  the 
breezes  that  encircle  round  them,  to  temper  the 
heats  of  the  sultry  zone.     But  the  nature   of 


116  ACTION  OF  HEAT. 

these  mountains  is  closely  connected  with  vol- 
canic action  ;  so  that,  in  fearful  apprehension, 
we  might  look  at  each  one  of  these  beautiful 
peaks,  as  if  it  were  destined  one  day  to  be  torn 
from  its  station  and  throAvn  into  the  sea. 

"  I  will  stretch  out  mine  hand  upon  thee, 
and  roll  thee  down  from  the  rocks,  and  will 
make  thee  a  burnt  mountain,"  was  one  of  the 
Divine  denunciations  against  Babylon,  Jer.  li. 
25.  Judgment  has  not  thus  fallen  on  Ternate, 
one  of  the  most  lovely  of  the  cluster  just  ad- 
verted to  ;  but  the  top  of  the  highest  rock  has 
been  torn  off,  and  hurled  from  a  height  of  five 
or  six  thousand  feet,  into  the  sea.  A  huge 
gap  was  left  behind,  which  seemed  to  a  traveller 
when  standing  on  the  edge,  like  a  deep  valley, 
or  ravine,  betwixt  two  mountains.  As  the 
portion  rent  away  in  this  tremendous  struggle 
was  split  into  fragments  of  various  sizes,  there 
is,  besides,  a  vast  pile  at  the  water's  edge,  a 
road,  or  causeway,  strewed  with  half-vitrified 
pieces  of  rock  and  cinders,  from  the  margm  of 
the  rift  to  the  declivity  of  the  mountain;  so 
that  the  island,  so  lovely  under  other  aspects, 
presents  on  this  side  a  fearful  scene  of  desola- 
tion. What  a  striking  comment  on  the  words, 
"  I  will  make  thee  a  burnt  mountain ;" — I  will 
tear  off  thy  summit,  shiver  it  into  ten  thousand 
pieces,  and  therewith  overwhelm  and  destroy 
the  natural  verdure  of  thy  sides,  which  once 
looked  so  goodly  and  so  fair  !  Some  time  in 
March,  1839,  another  eruption  took  place  at 
Ternate  ;    so   that,  long  before   these   ejected 


BURNING  MIRRORS.  117 

matters  could  yield  to  the  decomposing  action 
of  the  atmosphere,  and  afford  a  soil  for  vege- 
table growth,  another  layer,  of  equally  forlorn 
and  broken  kind,  was  scattered  over  them. 

In  connexion  with  these  astounding  pheno- 
mena, it  may  be  remarked  that  an  apparatus  has 
recently  been  contrived  called  the  fire-annihilator, 
the  origin  of  which  is  not  a  little  curious.  It 
is  said  that  the  inventor  observed  that  the  smoke 
hovering  over  ,a  burning  mountain  diminished 
its  fury,  and  that,  on  analysing  it  and  combining 
similar  elements,  he  discovered  the  means  of 
extinguishing  fires,  and  thus  of  arresting  at  the 
outset  what  might  otherwise  prove  a  tremendous 
calamity. 

Many  processes  of  art,  like  the  operations  of 
nature,  are  dependent  on  heat.  By  this  agent, 
the  most  obdurate  masses  soften  like  wax, 
and  yield  to  the  forms  which  are  demanded  by 
our  Avants  and  our  tastes ;  and  compounds,  knit 
together  by  stubborn  affinities,  are  resolved  by 
it  into  their  original  elements.  The  baron  Von 
Tchivanhausen  constructed  a  burning  mirror 
in  1687,  five  feet  three  inches  in  breadth,  and 
reflecting  the  solar  rays  with  extraordinary 
power.  When  exposed  to  its  force,  wood  took 
fire,  and  continued  to  burn,  notwithstanding  a 
most  violent  wind  ;  and  water,  contained  in  an 
earthen  vessel,  quickly  boiled,  so  that  eggs 
were  cooked,  and  the  liquid  soon  after  evapo- 
rated. Copper  and  silver  were  fused  in  a  few 
minutes,  and  slate  was  transformed  into  a  kind 
of  black  glass,  which,  when  held  by  a  pair  of 


118  ACTION  OF  HEAT. 

pincers,  could  be  drawn  out  into  filaments. 
This  mirror  afterwards  came  into  the  pos- 
session of  the  king  of  France,  and  was  kept  in 
the  Jardins  du  Roi.  Other  mirrors  have  been 
formed  of  different  substances.  At  the  Poly- 
technic Institution,  some  years  ago,  there  were 
two  metallic  discs  jjlaced  at  the  extreme  ends 
of  the  great  hall,  and  when  a  vessel  of  burning 
coals  was  held  in  the  focus  of  one,  and  a  piece 
of  meat  in  the  focus  of  the  other,  the  latter  was 
cooked  with  marvellous  rapidity  by  a  simple 
and  apparently  an  unimportant  instrument. 

The  blow-pipe  has  immense  power.  Two 
volumes  of  hydrogen,  and  one  of  oxygen  gas, 
when  pure,  form  a  mixture  which  produces  in 
this  instrument  intense  heat,  and  most  substances 
may  be  fused  by  the  flame.  In  the  experiments 
of  Dr.  E.  Clarke,  lime,  strontion,  and  alumine, 
yielded  to  its  powers.  The  alkalis  were  fused 
and  volatilized  almost  the  instant  they  came 
into  contact  with  the  flame :  and  rock  crystal 
became  a  transparent  glass  full  of  bubbles. 
Opal  changed  into  a  pearly  white  enamel,  and 
flint  into  one  that  was  frothy.  Blue  sapphire 
was  melted  ;  and  Peruvian  enamel  changed 
into  a  transparent  and  colourless  glass.  Lapis 
lazuli  fused  into  transparent  glass,  with  a  slight 
tinge  of  green.  Iceland  spar,  next  in  difliculty, 
as  to  fusion,  to  its  native  magnesia,  melted  at 
last  into  a  limpid  glass,  giving  out  an  amethyst- 
coloured  flame.  Diamond  first  became  opaque, 
and  was  then  gradually  volatilized.  Gold, 
mixed  with  borax  as  a  flux,  was  fused ;  pla- 


SMELTING  ORES.  119 

tina  wire  melted  the  instant  it  was  brought 
into  contact  with  the  flame,  and  ran  down  in 
drops;  brass  wire  burned  with  a  green  flame; 
and  iron  wire  with  brilliant  sparks. 

At  a  recent  meeting  of  the  British  Associa- 
tion, Dr.  Faraday  exhibited  some  diamonds, 
which  he  had  received  from  M.  Dumas,  which 
had,  by  the  action  of  intense  heat,  been  con- 
verted into  coke.  In  one  case,  the  heat  of  the 
flame  of  oxide  of  carbon  and  oxygen  had  been 
used ;  in  another,  the  oxyhydrogen  flame ;  and, 
in  the  third,  the  galvanic  arc  of  flame  from  a 
Bunsen  battery  of  one  hundred  pairs.  In  the 
last  case,  the  diamond  was  perfectly  converted 
into  a  piece  of  coke;  and,  in  the  others,  the 
fusion  and  carbonaceous  formation  were  evident. 
Specimens  in  which  the  character  of  graphite 
was  taken  by  the  diamond  were  also  shown. 
The  electrical  characters  of  these  diamonds 
Avere  stated  also  to  have  been  changed,  the 
diamond  being  an  insulator,  while  coke  is  a 
conductor. 

A  rope,  nearly  three  miles  long,  was  recently 
lying  on  the  verge  of  the  borough  of  Gateshead, 
which  was  shortly  before  a  stone  in  the  bowels 
of  the  earth.  Smelted,  the  stone  yielded  iron. 
The  iron  was  converted  into  wire.  The  wire 
was  brought  to  the  M'ire-rope  manufactory  of 
Messrs.  K.  S.  Newall  and  Co.,  at  the  Teams,  near 
Gateshead,  and  there  twisted  into  a  line  4,660 
yards  long.  It  was  supposed  to  be  the  stout- 
est rope  of  the  kind  that  was  ever  made.  It 
weighs  twenty  tons,  five  hundredweights,  and 


120  ACTION  OF  HEAT. 

cost  the  purchasers  upwards  of  £1,134.  It  was 
intended  for  the  incline  on  the  Edinburgh  and 
Glasgow  Railway,  near  the  latter  city.  A 
rope  of  hemp  of  equal  strength  would  weigh 
thirty- three  tons  and-a-half,  and  cost  about 
three  hundred  pounds  more.  It  would  also 
entail  greater  expense  while  in  operation, 
(owing  to  its  greater  weight,)  and  would  sooner 
wear  out. 

"  The  process,"  says  the  Pharmaceutical 
Joiitmal,  "  for  purifying  and  agglomerating 
caoutchouc,  preparatory  to  its  being  cut  into 
sheets,  and  also  for  effecting  the  latter  opera- 
tion, are  due  to  the  ingenuity  of  M.  Sievier. 
The  general  principle  is  this : — Pieces  of  caout- 
chouc, mixed,  as  they  are  in  their  native  state, 
with  various  impurities,  are  put  into  a  strong 
metallic  drum,  through  which  passes  an  axle, 
studded  with  chisel-shaped  teeth.  The  interior 
of  the  drum  is  supplied  with  similar  ones,  but 
stationary.  Therefore,  when  the  axle  is  made 
to  revolve,  the  caoutchouc  becomes  subjected 
to  a  most  powerful  rending  and  kneading  mo- 
tion, in  the  course  of  which  sufficient  heat  is 
evolved,  notwithstanding  a  current  of  cold 
water  continually  passes  through  the  drum, 
to  agglutinate  the  material  into  a  compact 
mass.  This  mass  is  now  subjected  to  the 
pressure  of  a  powerful  screw  apparatus,  and 
made  to  assume  the  form  of  a  cuboid,  from 
which  sheets  of  caoutchouc  may  be  eventually 
cut  by  the  rapid  vibratory  action  of  a  knife, 
kept  moistened  with  water.     As   solvents  for 


CURRENTS  OF  HEATED  AIR.  121 

caoutchouc,  equal  parts  of  coal  naptlia  and 
turpentine  are  commonly  used;  and,  of  late, 
the  bisulphuret  of  carbon  has  been  much 
employed." 

Mr.   J.  Wishaw  has   lately   shown  the  ad- 
vantages arising  from  the  application  of  cur- 
rents   of   heated    air    to    the    following    pur- 
poses: seasoning  timber,  generally;  preserving 
timber,  purifying  feathers,   blankets,  clothing, 
etc. ;  drying  coffee,  roasting   coffee,  japanning 
leather  for  table-covers,  and    other  purposes; 
drying    silks,    drying    yarn,    drying    distillers' 
tuns,   drying    papier-mache,   and    drying   vul- 
canized india-rubber.     The   process   has  also 
been  successfully  tested  for  drying  loaf-sugar, 
drying  printing-paper,  or    setting  the  ink,  to 
enable  books  to  be  bound   more  quickly  than 
usual;   drying  starch,  and    converting   it   into 
dextine,  or  British  gum ;  and  preserving  meat. 
It  has    been  also  stated,   that    sixty  suits   of 
clothes,   which   had  belonged   to   persons  who 
had  died  of  the  plague  in  Syria,  had  been  sub- 
ject to  the  process   of  purification,  at  a  tem- 
perature of  about  240°,  and   afterwards  worn 
by  sixty  persotis  ;  not  one  of  whom  ever  gave 
the  slightest  symptom  of  being  affected  by  the 
malady.      In    describing  these    processes,    the 
writer    referred  to    the   mode  adopted  by  the 
North  American  Indians  for  preserving  the  meat 
of  the  buffalo — that  of  drying  it  in   the  sun  ; 
and  stated   that  heated  currents  had  been  ap- 
plied successfully.     The  discovery  seems  highly 
important  for  shipping;  as,  instead  of  sailors 
11 


122  ACTION  OF  HEAT. 

consuming  salted  provisions  from  one  month's 
end  to  another,  they  might  thus  have  an  occa- 
sional supply  of  fresh  meat.  Meat  treated  in 
this  way  occupies  much  less  space,  too,  and  is 
much  lighter  in  weight.  It  is  believed  that  the 
juices  of  the  meat  contain  about  seven-eighths 
of  Avatery  moisture  :  this,  the  current  of  heated 
air  removes,  leaving  the  albumen  and  all  the 
flavour  and  nutrition  behind. 

That  in  the  production  of  steam  heat  is  of 
incalculable  value,  there  needs  no  proof  We 
derive  special  advantage  from  it,  in  the  results 
of  that  machinery  which  astonish  us  by  their 
magnitude,  as  well  as  by  their  elegance.  Steam 
wafts  us,  in  a  few  hours,  from  one  extremity 
of  the  land  to  the  other,  and  renders  America, 
once  called  the  New  World,  accessible  in  a 
few  daj's. 

Another  instance  of  its  application,  often 
overlooked,  is  thus  stated  in  the  Quarterly 
Review: — "  That  extraordinary  line  of  steam 
commufaication  between  England  and  her  east- 
ern possessions,  (somewhat  oddly  called  the 
ouerZ<:«?<i  journey,)  of  which  Australia  and  New 
Zealand  will  hereafter  form  the  extreme 
branches.  The  creation  of  the  last  twelve 
years,  this  communication  has  already  acquired 
a  sort  of  maturity  of  speed  and  exactness,  not- 
withstanding the  enormous  distances  traversed, 
and  the  changes  necessary  in  transit  from  sea  to 
sea.  The  Anglo-Indian  mail  in  its  two  sec- 
tions, and  including  passengers  and  corre- 
spondence, possesses  a  sort  of  individuality  as 


THE  OVERLAND  JOURNEY.  123 

the  greatest  and  most  singular  line  of  inter- 
course on  the  globe.  Two  of  the  first  nations 
of  Europe,  France  and  Austria,  struggle  for 
the  privilege  of  carrying  this  mail  across  their 
territories.  Traversing  the  length  of  the  Medi- 
terranean, it  is  received  on  the  waters  of  the 
ancient  Nile — Cairo  and  the  Pyramids  are 
passed  in  its  onward  course* — the  desert  is 
traversed  with  a  speed  which  mocks  the  old 
cavalcades  of  camels  and  loitering  Arabs — it  is 
re-embarked  on  the  Red  Sea,  near  a  spot 
sacred  in  scriptural  history — the  promontory- 
projecting  from  the  heights  of  Mount  Sinai,  the 
shores  of  Mecca  and  Medina  are  passed  in  its 
rapid  course  down  this  great  gulf — it  emerges 
through  the  straits  of  Babelmandel  into  the 
Indian  seas — to  be  distributed  thence  by  dif- 
ferent lines  to  all  the  great  centres  of  Indian, 
government  and  commerce,  as  well  as  to  our 
more  remote  dependencies  in  the  straits  of 
Malacca  and  the  Chinese  seas.  There  is  a 
certain  majesty  in  the  simple  outline  of  a  route 
like  this,  traversing  the  most  ancient  seats  of 
empire,  and  what  we  are  taught  to  regard  as 
among  the  earliest  abodes  of  man — and  now 
ministering  to  the  connexion  of  England  with 
that  great  sovereignty  she  has  conquered,  or 
created,  in  the  east ;  more  wonderful,  with  one 
exception,  than  any  of  the  empires  of  anti- 
quity ;  and,  perchance,  also,  more  important  to 
the  general  destinies  of  mankind." 


CHAPTEPw    VIII. 

Tlie  magic  swan— Properties  of  the  magnet— The  mariners* 
compass— The  process  of  magnetizing— The  dip  of  the 
needle — Magnetic  properties  in  various  substances. 

A  MAGICIAN  of  former  days  had  a  figure  of  a 
swan,  which  floated  on  a  vessel  of  water,  round 
the  rim  of  which  were  placed  the  twenty-four 
letters  of  the  alphabet.  Addressing  the  specta- 
tors, he  was  accustomed  to  ask  for  a  name  to  be 
given  him,  and  it  was  correctly  spelt  by  the 
swan,  as  it  moved  from  one  letter  to  another 
till  it  had  indicated  the  whole.  A  little  philo- 
sophy, in  this  instance,  produced  repeatedly 
great  astonishment.  A  magnetic  bar  was  placed 
in  the  swan,  and  the  performer  had  a  powerful 
magnet  concealed  in  his  own  dress,  and  the 
swan,  of  course,  followed  his  motions.  Thus, 
if  he  wanted  the  swan  to  spell  "  Selina,"  he 
moved  first  to  S,  then  to  E,  and  so  on,  through 
the  successive  letters  of  that  name,  till  the  word 
was  spelt.  On  one  occasion,  however,  the  per- 
former was  not  a  little  disconcerted — the  swan 
stopped  in  its  course  and  refused  to  move. 
Again  and  again  the  effort  was  made,  but  it 
was  utterly  in  vain;  the  magician  could  only 
124 


OXIDE  OF  IRON.  125 

acknowledge  that  some  person  was  in  the  room 
aware  of  his  secret,  and  counteracting  his 
movements.  Sir  Francis  Bhike  Dehival  avowed 
himself  to  be  the  person :  he  produced  a  magnet 
which  he  had  used  on  facing  the  performer  as 
he  stood  at  the  table ;  the  swan  was,  therefore, 
placed  between  two  attractive  instruments,  and, 
of  course,  remained  immovable. 

A  magnet  may  be  described  as  a  piece  of 
iron,  which  possesses  the  property  of  turning 
towards  the  poles  of  the  earth.  This  extra- 
ordinary quality  does  not  necessarily  belong  to 
all  specimens  of  iron  in  its  native  state,  but 
only  to  one  kind  or  variety  called  the  oxide,  on 
account  of  its  union  with  oxygen  in  a  particular 
condition.  The  possession  of  a  special  quality 
in  this  ore  of  iron  was  not  discovered  from  its 
polarity,  or  power  of  turning  to  the  poles  of  the 
earth,  but  from  its  property  of  attracting  small 
pieces  of  iron,  which  are  not  magnetic;  and 
hence  it  was  called  the  loadstone. 

There  are  many  uses  to  which  the  magnet 
has  been  applied,  and  there  is  a  probability  of 
its  being  much  more  extensively  employed ;  but 
its  most  important  application  is  in  the  con- 
struction of  the  mariners'  compass,  which  ren- 
ders it  possible  freely  to  traverse  the  ocean. 
There  has  been  some  controversy  as  to  the 
discovery  of  the  directive  power  of  the  magnet, 
and  the  invention  of  the  compass.  It  was  once 
supposed  to  have  been  unknown  until  about  the 
thirteenth  century,  but  it  is  now  generally 
acknowledged  that  the  Chinese  were  acquainted 
11* 


126  MAGNETISM. 

with  tlie  compass  at  least  eleven  hundred  and 
fourteen  years  before  the  birth  of  Christ.  At 
the  commencement  of  the  thirteenth  century,  it 
was  certainly  in  use  in  Europe;  for  cardinal  de 
Vitty  mentions  it  with  some  particularity,  in  a 
work  entitled  "  The  History  of  the  East,"  wher«^ 
he  says,  "  The  iron  needle,  after  contact  with 
the  loadstone,  constantly  turns  to  the  north 
star,  which,  as  the  axis  of  the  firmament,  re- 
mains immovable,  while  the  others  revolve; 
and  hence  it  is  essentially  necessary  to  those 
navigating  on  the  ocean."  This  shows  that 
the  compass  was  not  invented  in  Europe,  as 
commonly  believed,  by  Gioia,  a  pilot,  and  a 
native  of  Pasitano,  a  small  village,  situated  near 
Amalfi,  who  lived  about  the  end  of  the  thir- 
teenth century,  but,  by  him,  it  appears  to  have 
been  made  fully  available  for  the  purposes  of 
navigation. 

As  used  by  sailors  in  the  Mediterranean  at 
that  period,  it  was  a  very  uncertain  guide ;  for 
the  compass  then  consisted  of  a  magnetic  needle 
attached  to  two  straws  on  a  piece  of  cork, 
floating  on  water  in  a  basin,  or  glass  vase.  Gioia, 
therefore,  placed  the  magnetic  needle  upon  a 
pivot,  so  that  it  was  free  to  move  in  any  direc- 
tion, and  thus  prevented  that  inconvenience  and 
inaccuracy  of  observation  which  must  have 
resulted  from  the  motion  of  the  needle  floating 
on  water,  agitated  by  the  tossing  of  the  vessel. 
The  magnetic  needle  was  afterwards  attached  to 
a  card  divided  into  thirty-two  points,  called  the 
rose  des  vents,  so  that  the  direction  in  which  a 


IRON  MAGNETIZED.  127 

vessel  was  sailing  could  be  minutely  determined, 
and  the  means  of  ascertaining  it  was  no  longer 
dependent  on  the  accuracy  of  the  eye  in  mea- 
suring distances.  The  mariners'  compass  is 
still  constructed  in  the  same  manner,  but  is 
inclosed  in  a  box  with  a  glass  cover,  and  is 
thus  preserved  fiom  the  influence  of  the  wind. 
Another  improvement  has  been  made  in  so 
suspending  the  box  that,  however  the  vessel 
may  be  pitched  by  the  waves,  and  rolled  from 
side  to  side,  the  needle  remains  in  a  horizontal 
position,  and  gives  accurate  indications  of  the 
direction  in  which  the  vessel  is  sailing. 

In  addition  to  the  properties  already  men- 
tioned, the  loadstone  has  the  power  of  commu- 
nicating its  virtues  to  any  piece  of  hard  iron  or 
steel,  and  that,  without  diminution  of  strength  ; 
so  that,  if  but  one  piece  had  been  discovered,  it 
would  have  been  sufficient  for  the  production 
of  all  the  magnets  that  have  ever  been  formed 
by  man.  Other  means  may  be  adopted  of 
accomplishing  this  purpose.  Take  a  bar  of 
iron,  and,  striking  it  several  times  with  a 
hammer,  it  will  become  magnetic.  This  ex- 
periment may  be  performed  with  a  common 
poker.  The  magnetism  thus  communicated  to  a 
steel  bar  will  be  much  increased  in  power,  if  it 
be  supported  on  another  bar  during  the  process 
of  hammering. 

Gay  Lussac,  a  French  chemist  of  great 
celebrity,  discovered  a  method  of  making  mag- 
nets by  a  process  so  simple,  that  it  may,  in  all 
cases,  be  applied  successfully.     Take  a  piece  of 


128  MAGNETISM. 

thin  iron  wire  and  suspend  it  in  a  vertical 
position.  The  earth  itself  being  a  magnet, 
induces  a  magnetic  power  in  the  wire.  To 
render  this  permanent,  twist  the  wire  till  it 
breaks,  and  a  magnet  will  be  obtained. 

Mrs.  Somerville,  well  known  for  her  excellent 
philosophical  works,  made  some  experiments 
on  the  effect  of  solar  light  in  the  production  of 
permanent  magnetism.  If  half  of  a  small 
serving  needle  be  covered  with  paper,  and  the 
exposed  part  be  placed  in  the  violet  or  indigo 
ray,  magnetism  will  be  induced,  and  the  same 
effect  will  be  produced  in  a  smaller  degree  by 
the  blue  and  green. 

To  describe  but  one  more  mode  ;  magnets 
are  readily  made  by  what  is  called  the  single 
touch,  and  this  is  perhaps  the  most  simple  and 
most  effective  way  of  proceeding.  Place  the 
steel  bar  to  be  magnetized  on  a  table,  or  any  other 
convenient  place,  and,  as  nearly  as  possible, 
north  and  south,  which  position  is  called  by 
philosophers,  the  magnetic  meridian.  This 
being  done,  draw  over  it  perpendicularly  a 
strong  magnet.  In  this  operation,  it  is  neces- 
sary to  begin  at  one  end  of  the  bar,  and  draw 
the  magnet  over  its  entire  length,  and  then 
again  in  the  same  direction.  It  must  not  be 
drawn  backward  and  forward,  for  the  power 
communicated  in  one  direction,  would  be  de- 
stroyed by  an  opposite  motion. 

The  following  experiments  are  very  instruct- 
ive:— Suspend  a  magnetic  needle  by  a  silk  cord, 
so  that  it  will  hang  in  a  horizontal  position. 


DIFFUSION  OF  MAGNETISM.  129 

Then  bring  it  over  the  centre  of  a  large 
magnet  lying  upon  a  table,  and  it  will  still 
retain  its  position  ;  but,  as  it  is  brought  near 
to  either  end,  it  will  be  bent  downwards,  and, 
at  the  extremities,  will  be  vertical.  This  ex- 
periment illustrates  what  is  called  the  dip  of 
the  magnet.  On  the  equator  of  the  earth,  the 
needle  is  horizontal,  or  nearly  so,  but  as  it  is 
brought  near  the  poles  it  dips,  and  over  either 
magnetic  pole  would  be  vertical.  The  reason 
of  this  is  evident  from  the  former  experiment : 
at  the  equator,  each  pole  of  the  needle  is 
attracted  in  an  equal  degree  by  the  north  and 
south  poles  of  the  earth  ;  but,  if  we  proceed 
northward,  the  north  pole  of  the  magnet  will 
be  more  attracted  than  the  south,  and  point 
towards  it  until  at  last  it  becomes  vertical. 
The  poles  of  the  earth's  rotation,  that  is,  the 
points  which  would  form  the  terminations  of 
its  axis,  did  it  revolve  on  one,  are  not  the 
magnetic  poles ;  nor  is  the  equator  of  the  earth 
the  magnetic  equator.  They  do  not,  however, 
greatly  vary. 

Take,  also,  a  bar  magnet,  and,  placing  it  upon 
a  table,  cover  it  with  a  sheet  of  \\Titing-paper. 
Then  sprinkle  upon  it  some  fine  iron  tilings, 
and  they  will  arrange  themselves  in  very 
beautiful  curves  round  the  magnet,  showing,  as 
it  is  supposed,  the  circulation  of  the  magnetic 
fluid.  From  this  experiment,  we  learn  that  tiie 
magnetic  power  is  greatest  at  the  poles;  and 
this  is  true  in  reference  to  the  magnetism  of 
the  earth,  which  increases  in  power  from  the 


130  MAGNETISM. 

magnetic  equator  to  the  magnetic  poles  of  the 
earth,  as  determined  by  a  great  variety  of  inte- 
resting and  delicate  experiments.  Sir  Graves 
C.  Haughton  has  communicated  a  paper  to  the 
June  number  of  Brewster's  Philosophical 
Magazine,  entitled  "Experiments  proving  the 
common  nature  of  Magnetism,  Cohesion,  Ad- 
hesion, and  Viscosity." 

This  paper  contains  two  separate  sets  of 
experiments,  the  first  of  which  relates  to  the 
attraction  the  magnetic  needle  has  for  various 
mineral,  vegetable,  and  animal  substances  :  and 
it  is  not  a  little  remarkable  that  antimony  and 
bismuth,  as  well  as  copper,  tin,  and  cadmium, 
are,  in  these  experiments,  shown  to  have  attract- 
ive powers  for  the  magnetic  needle;  though, 
in  those  made  by  Dr.  Faraday,  he  has  ranged 
them  amongst  the  class  of  dia-magnetics,  that 
is,  of  those  that  exhibited  repulsion.  Arsenic, 
too,  which  he  found  so  intractable,  was  made, 
in  the  present  experiments,  to  assume  the  real 
magnetic  character,  that  is  to  say,  the  power  of 
attracting  and  repelling,  by  being  kept  for  a 
short  time  in  contact  with  a  bar  magnet. 
Iodine,  likewise,  was  found,  on  bringing  it  near 
the  needle,  to  be  able  to  attract  it. 

In  most  of  these  experiments,  the  needle  was 
made  to  attach  itself  to  the  substances  by  being 
forced  towards  them  by  a  magnet,  which  was 
gently  withdrawn  after  contact  was  so  effected. 
In  this  way,  and  by  a  reference  to  the  degrees 
of  the  compass  traversed  by  the  needle,  a  hair 
of  the  head,  or  a  spark  of  diamond,  can  be 


DIFFUSION  OF  MAGNETISM.  131 

accurately  measured.  The  strength  of  the 
needle  in  its  movement  on  a  pivot  was  ascer- 
tained by  azimuths,  of  which  a  detailed  account 
is  given. 

The  remainder  of  the  memoir,  which  is  con- 
tained in  a  supplementary  number  of  the  Maga- 
zine, is  devoted  to  a  detail  of  about  five  hundred 
experiments,  in  which  non-ferruginous  needles 
were  made,  by  a  modification  of  the  magnetic 
needle,  of  which  they  formed  a  portion,  to 
attach  themselves  to  the  same  substances  as  in 
the  preceding  experiments.  Thus,  for  instance, 
needles  of  most  of  the  remarkable  metals,  as 
well  as  of  glass,  were  found  to  have  a  strong 
affinity  for  nearly  every  kind  of  substance, 
"whether  mineral,  vegetable,  or  animal,  if  its 
density  was  greater  than  that  of  cork  or  char- 
coal. Brass  surpassed  all  the  metals  in  its 
power  of  attraction,  and,  what  is  most  remark- 
able, the  magnetic  needle  was  the  lowest  of  ail 
in  the  scale,  showing  not  much  more  than  one- 
third  of  the  attractive  energy  of  soft  iron. 
Every  substance  of  a  crystalline  or  vitreous 
character  exhibited  remarkable  magnetic  pro- 
perties, and  this  could  not  be  mistaken,  as  it 
might  be  heightened  at  pleasure  by  contact 
with  either  pole  of  a  powerful  magnet.  Towards 
the  close  of  the  experiments,  the  curious  dis- 
covery was  made,  that  needles  of  ivory,  mother- 
of-peail,  tortoise- shell,  horn,  etc.,  were  singu- 
larly magnetic,  and  this  is  traced  to  the  albumen 
and  gelatine  they  contained;  and  the  inference 
is  drawn,  from  this  and  other  facts,  that  the 


132  MAGNETISM. 

cohesive,  adhesive,  and  viscous  properties  of 
bodies  are  owing  to  real  magnetic  qualities, 
and  that,  by  drying,  albuminous,  gelatinous, 
and  glutinous  fluids  constitute  various  kinds  of 
glass,  which  view  is  supported  by  what  takes 
place  with  the  gelatinous  hydrate  of  silicium. 

"  The  preceding  experiments,"  says  the  wri- 
ter, "  include  a  vast  variety  of  substances  in 
the  mineral,  vegetable,  and  animal  kingdoms, 
that  exhibit   such    strono-    attractive    affinities 

o 

for  one  another,  that,  however  much  they  may 
diifer  in  their  external  appearances,  and  in 
their  very  natures,  they  are  bound  together  by 
common  bonds  that  connect  them  all  into  a 
single  family ;  for  we  find  the  metal  attaching 
itself  to  crystalline,  animal,  and  vegetable 
substances;  and,  again,  the  crystal,  whether  we 
call  it  by  the  name  of  diamond,  salt,  or  sugar- 
candy,  connecting  itself  readily  to  metallic, 
animal,  and  vegetable  bodies.  In  a  similar 
way,  animal  bodies  attach  themselves  to  those 
that  are  mineral  and  vegetable ;  and,  to  com- 
plete the  circle,  the  vegetable  kingdom,  by  its 
woods,  its  gums,  its  lac,  and  its  resins,  is  con- 
nected with  them  all." 


CHAPTER    IX. 

The  electrical  kite— Candles  magically  lisrhted— St.  Elmo's  fire 
—The  chronoscope— The  electric  clock— The  electric  tele- 
graph—Sub-marine  telegraphs — The  overruling  providence 
of  God. 

In  the  auto-biographical  memoirs  of  sir  John 
Barrow,  lately  published,  he  says,  when  de- 
scribing some  of  the  employments  of  his  youth: 
*'  I  had  fallen  in  with  an  account  of  Benjamin 
Franklin's  electrical  kite,  and  a  kite  being  a 
very  common  object  with  school-boys,  and  a 
string  steeped  in  salt-water  with  a  glass- 
handle  tq  it  not  difficult  to  be  had,  I  speedily 
flew  my  kite,  and  obtained  abundance  of 
sparks  (like  those  obtained  from  an  electrical 
machine.)  An  old  woman,  curious  to  see  what 
I  was  about,  was  too  tempting  an  opportunity 
not  to  give  her  a  shock,  which  so  frightened 
her,  that  she  spread  abroad  in  the  village  that 
I  was  no  better  than  I  should  be,  for  that  I  was 
drawing  down  fire  from  heaven.  The  alarm 
ran  through  the  village,  and  my  poor  mother 
entreated  me  to  lay  aside  my  kite." 

It  was  recently  announced  by  a  professor  of 
magic,  that  several  hundred  candles  would  be 
lighted  by  one  pistol-shot.     Accordingly,   the 
12  133 


134  ELECTRICITY. 

stage  appeared  in  partial  darkness,  but,  througli 
the  gloom,  ranges  of  candles  might  be  indis- 
tinctly perceived  at  diiferent  heights  from  the 
floor  ;  and,  in  a  minute  or  two,  the  performer 
was  seen  to  enter  and  discharge  a  pistol,  when 
all  the  candles  were  instantly  ignited,  and  the 
array  of  magical  instruments  appeared  strongly 
illuminated,  ready  to  be  employed  in  the 
subsequent  exploits — an  eiFect  always  followed 
by  enthusiastic  acclamations.  And  yet  there 
is  no  difficulty  in  explaining  this  prodigy. 
Candles,  carefully  prepared  to  ignite  readily, 
might  have  above  them  an  arrangement  of 
wires,  with  the  point  of  a  wire  just  over  each 
wick,  and  the  whole  being  connected  with  an 
electrical  battery,  they  could  be  ignited  in- 
stantly, at  a  moment's  notice.  The  instant 
of  the  performer's  entering,  might  be  the  signal 
for  the  discharge  of  the  battery  by  others,  and 
the  report  of  the  pistol  would  prevent  any 
sound  being  heard  on  the  removal  of  the  wires, 
which  the  previous  darkness  had  effectually 
concealed. 

Lord  Napier  says,  that  when  he  was  in  the 
Mediterranean,  some  years  ago,  and  during  an 
awful  thunderstorm,  he  was  retiring  to  rest, 
when  he  heard  suddenly  a  cry,  from  those  aloft, 
of  "St.  Elmo  and  St.  Anne!"  which  induced 
him  again  to  go  on  deck.  On  observing  the 
appearance  of  the  masts,  the  maintop-gallant- 
mast-head  was  completely  enveloped  in  a  blaze 
of  pale  phosphoric  light ;  the  other  mast-heads 
presented  a  similar  appearance  ;  the  flame  pre- 


ST.  ELMO'S  FIRE.  135 

serving  its  intensity  for  eight  or  ten  minutes, 
and  then  gradually  becoming  fainter.  Yet  this 
appearance,  which  superstition  declared  to  be 
miraculous,  was  only  electrical ;  for,  while  the 
solar  heat  is  converting  into  vapour  the  water 
and  moisture  of  the  earth,  electricity  is  freely 
disengaged.  "  The  clouds  which  this  power 
forms  are  in  different  electrical  conditions, 
though  the  electricity  of  the  atmosphere,  when 
serene,  is  invariably  the  same.  Hence  the 
descent  of  clouds  towards  the  earth,  their  mu- 
tual approach,  the  force  of  atmospherical  cur- 
rents, and  the  ever-varying  agencies  of  heat 
and  cold  convert  the  aerial  envelope  of  the 
globe  into  a  complete  electrical  apparatus ; 
spontaneously  exhibiting,  in  a  variety  of  forms, 
the  play  of  the  conflict  of  its  antagonist 
powers.  At  the  close  of  a  sultry  day,  and 
above  level  plains,  the  opposite  electricities  of 
the  earth  and  the  air  effect  their  re-union  in 
noiseless  flashes  of  lightning,  illuminating,  as  it 
were,  in  far- spread  sheets,  the  whole  circuit  of 
the  horizon,  and  the  entire  canopy  of  the 
clouds.  At  other  times,  the  same  elements 
light  up  the  arctic  constellations  with  their 
restless  wildfires  —  now  diffusing  their  phos- 
phoric flame,  and  flitting  around  in  fitful 
gleams,  and  now  shooting  up  their  auroral 
columns,  advancing,  retreating,  and  contending, 
as  if  in  mimicry  of  mortal  stfife."* 

That  electricity  and  magnetism  are  identical, 
is  evident  from  many  experiments.    If  a  sewing- 
*  Edinburgh  Review. 


136 


ELECTRICITY. 


needle  be  placed  in  a  wire,  twisted  in  that  form 
called  a  helix,  and  a  shock  of  electricity  be 
then  passed  through  it,  from  a  Leyden  jar,  the 
needle  will  be  magnetized.  The  form  of  the 
wire,  and  the  manner  of  placing  the  needle,  are 
shown  in  the  figure. 


Again,  if  m  be  a  piece  of  soft  iron,  of  a  horse- 
shoe shape,  and  surrounded 
with  copper  -  wire  covered 
with  a  non-conducting  sub- 
stance, it  will  become  power- 
fully magnetic  on  connect- 
ing the  ends  of  the  wire  with 
a  galvanic  battery.  If  this 
be  only  of  a  moderate  size, 
and  a  keeper,  i,  be  attached 
to  M,  it  will  suspend  w,  repre- 
senting a  very  heavy  weight. 
Mr.  Barlow  has  so  ar- 
ranged a  globe,  as  to  identify 
the  dip  of  the  needle  with  electricity,  a  current 
of  which  appears  to  be  always  passing  round  the 
earth.  At  g,  in  the  opposite  diagram,  is  a  globe 
having  a  wire  covered  with  silk,  coiled  entirely 
over  it,  from  one  ^ole,  round  and  round  to  the 
other.  The  ends  of  this  wire  dip  into  two  cups, 
p  and  N,  connected  with  the  poles  of  a  galvanic 
battery.    When  the  current  passes  from  this,  the 


LLECTJRIC  CLOCK. 


137 


sraall  and  delicately  balanced  magnets,  m,  will 
show  polarity,  and  dip,  just  the  same  as  in  the 
earth  itself. 

Mr.  Bain's  electric  clock  is  a  remarkable 
contrivance.  Nothing  can  be  more  satisfactory 
or  complete.  Allowing  for  wear  and  tear  of 
materials  from  friction,  and  the  oxidating  in- 
fluence of  the  atmosphere,  the  perpetual  motion 
appears  to  be  realized.  As  long  as  the  elec- 
tricity of  the  earth  continues,  or,  in  other 
words,  as  long  as  the  laws  of  nature  last,  so 
long  will  Mr.  Bnin's  clock  continue  its  oscilla- 
tions, and  register  the  transit  of  time.  The 
pendulum  conducts,  and  is  the  treasury  of  that 
power,  and  two  simple  wheels  and  their  attach- 
ments, with  the  dead  escapement,  complete  the 
machine.  By  an  ingenious  provision,  Mr. 
Bain's  electric  clock  at  the  manufactory  extin- 
guishes the  gas-light  whiclf  illuminates  its 
dial,  at  half-past  twelve  precisely. 

Mr.  Bain  has  invented  and  patented  another 
kind  of  electric  clock,  the  clock  being  in  Glas- 
12* 


138  ELECTRICITY.^* 

gow,  and  the  pendulum  in  Edinburgh.  By 
means  of  the  electric  telegraph  along  the  rail- 
way, constructed  by  Mr,  Bain,  he  intimated  his 
wish  that  the  pendulum  at  the  other  end  of  the 
line  should  be  put  in  motion.  The  clock  was 
placed  in  the  station-house  in  Glasgow,  the 
pendulum  belonging  to  it  in  the  station-house 
at  Edinburgh,  the  two  being  forty-  six  miles 
apart.  They  were  joined  by  means  of  the  wire 
of  the  telegraph,  in  such  a  manner  as  that,  by  a 
current  of  electricity,  the  machinery  of  the 
clock  in  Glasgow  was  made  to  move  correctly, 
according  to  the  vibrations  of  the  electrical 
pendulum  in  Edinburgh.  Thus,  in  like  man- 
ner, were  England  and  Scotland  united  in  one 
great  chronometrical  alliance,  a  single  elec- 
trical pendulum  of  this  description,  placed  in 
the  Observatory  at  Greenwich,  would  give  the 
astronomical  time  correctly  throughout  the 
country. 

The  electric  telegraph  may  be  said  to  have 
originated  in  a  trivial  incident.  It  occurred  to 
professor  Oersted,  of  Copenhagen,  to  try  the 
effect  of  a  galvanic  current  on  the  needle  of  the 
compass.  He  found  it,  on  making  the  experi- 
ment, deflected,  that  is,  turned  aside  from  its 
usual  bearing  of  due  north  and  south.  Pro- 
fessor Wheatstone  applied  this  result  very  in- 
geniously. He  arranged  a  series  of  needles, 
mounted  like  that  of  the  compass,  and  found 
that  he  could  turn  any  of  these  aside  by  gal- 
vanic currents,  while  the  others  remained  at 
rest.     It  was  evident,  therefore,  that  if  each 


ELECTRIC  TELEGRAPH. 


139 


needle  were  supposed  to  denote  a  letter,  any 
letters   midit   thus  be  indicated ;  and,  conse- 


quently, if  an  arrangement  of  needles  standing 
for  so  many  letters,  respectively,  were  placed  at 


140  ELECTRICITY. 

the  distance  of  fifty  or  a  hundred  miles,  and 
any  of  them  were  acted  on  by  means  of  wires 
traversing  the  distance,  a  message  could  be 
despatched  at  one  end  of  the  line,  and  read  off 
at  the  other  from  the  deflected  needles,  by  any 
person  duly  acquainted  with  the  arrangement. 
A  similar  set  of  needles  at  the  opposite  end, 
would  enable  him,  as  certainly,  to  transmit  a 
reply. 

The  engraving  represents  the  front  of  the 
telegraph,  exhibiting  the  index,  as  it  is  denomi- 
nated. The  wires,  which  are  suspended  through 
the  length  of  the  line,  are  attached  at  either 
eud  to  the  telegraphic  instruments,  a  branch 
wire  being  fastened  to  a  large  metallic  surfoce, 
imbedded  in  the  earth  for  completing  the  elec- 
tric current.  When  at  rest,  the  handles  are 
down,  and  the  pointers  remain  in  their  vertical 
position.  The  signals  are  given  by  tv\'0  mag- 
netic needles,  or  pointers,  each  suspended  ver- 
tically on  an  axis  passing  through  the  dial,  and, 
behind,  another  pointer  is  fixed  on  each  cor- 
responding axis.  A  portion  of  the  conducting 
wire,  many  yards  in  length,  is  coiled  round  the 
galvanometer  frame,  in  Avhich  the  magnet 
moves,  so  as  to  subject  the  magnet  to  the  multi- 
plied deflecting  force  of  the  electric  current. 

The  battery  is  the  motive  power  of  the  ma- 
chine, occupying  the  same  relative  position  to 
it,  as  the  boiler  does  to  the  locomotive ;  for, 
though  it  does  not  produce  any  immediate 
result  on  the  works,  yet  the  part  it  performs  in 
the  undertaking  is  essential.     While  travelling, 


ELECTRIC  TELEGRAPH, 


Ul 


Mr.  Cooke  found  great  inconvenience  to  results 
from  the  spilling  of  the  acid  solution  use^l  in 
Sinee's  batteries  ;  and,  from  this,  he  w'as  led 
to  consider  if  the  substitution  of  fine  white 
Shanklin  sand,  saturated  with  the  di'^^fed  acid, 
would  not  avoid  this  difficulty.  ^Experiments 
having  confirmed  the  truth  o^'  his  conjecture, 
the  change  was  permanently  arranged,  and  it 
was  subsequently  foun^i  so  advantageous,  that 


the  same  method  was  tried  in  the  permanent 
batteries,  and,  in  like  manner,  the  result  has 
proved  satisfactory.  At  present,  the  generator 
resembles,  in    its   principal   features,  the    one 


142  ELECTRICITY. 

known  as  Wollaston's  trough ;  and  it  is  so 
arranged,  that  the  series  of  plates  of  cojJperand 
amalgamated  zinc,  arranged  for  the  evolution 
of  the  electric  fluid,  admit  of  being  placed  in  a 
correspoi4ing  series  of  cells,  filled  with  well- 
washed  and  dry  sand.  The  United  Service 
Gazette  states,  tliat  all  that  is  necessary  in  order 
to  use  the  instrument  is,  slightly  to  moisten  the 
sand  with  diluted  sulplj^ric  acid. 

The  conducting  wires  axe,  at  their  ends,  of 
less  diameter,  and  are  so  arranged  as  to  form 
the  coiled  magnets.  Those  in  the  diagram  are 
seen  in  connexion  with  the  works  ;  the  electric 
current,  taking  the  course  indicated  by  the 
arrows,  occasions  the  deflection  of  the  needle. 

The  following  engraving  represents  the  in- 
terior of  the  machine,  and  shows  the  means  by 
•which  the  magnet  is  connected  with  the  electric 
current.  The  parts  lettered  a  are  the  key-shafts, 
which,  on  being  turned  to  the  right  or  left  by  a 
handle,  pushes  one  of  the  springs,  c,  from  its 
point  of  contact,  c?,  and,  by  changing  the  course 
of  the  electric  current,  produces  a  corresponding 
change  in  the  position  of  the  needle. 

In  making  a  communication  to  the  person 
stationed  at  the  point  where  he  wishes  the 
information  to  be  received,  the  operator,  by 
turning  the  handle  to  the  right  or  left.,  breaks 
the  electric  current;  then,  pressing  the  wire 
against  pins  connected  with  the  battery- poles, 
the  coils  of  wire  receive  their  full  deflective 
force,  and  attract  the  magnetic  needles  ta either 
side,  according  to  the  course  of  the  current. 


ELECTRIC  TELEGRAPH. 


143 


Thus,  if  the  stream  of  electricity  passes  into  the 
coil  on  the  right,  the  upper  part  of  the  needle 
will  be  attracted  towards  it ;  if  the  stream  passes 
into  the  coil'  on  the  left,  then  the  needle  will,  in 
like  manner,  be  attracted  to  it;  thus,  giving  the 


whole  motion  necessary  to  the  pointers.     The 
time  which  elapses  between  the  moving  of  the 


144  ELECTRICITY. 

handles  and  the  effect  on  the  pointers,  is  im- 
perceptible, though  we  must  believe  that  it 
really  follows  it.  The  dial  is  divided  into  five 
circles,  each  containing  a  number  of  letters,  or 
signs.  The  left-hand  needle  moving  to  the  left 
twice,  gives  a;  three  times,  b;  once  to  the  right 
and  once  to  the  left,  c;  once  to  the  left  and  once 
to  the  right,  d;  once  to  the  right,  e;  twice,/; 
three  times,  g.  The  order  is  then  taken  up  bj 
the  right-hand  needle  moving  once  to  the  left 
for  h;  twice  for  i;  three  times  for  k;  once  to 
the  right  and  once  to  the  left  for  Z;  once  to  the 
left,  and  once  to  the  right,  for  m;  once  to  the 
right  for  n ;  twice  for  o ;  and  three  times  for  p. 
The  remaining  signs  are  made  by  two  needles 
working  conjointly,  so  that  the  simultaneous 
movement  of  the  two,  once  to  the  left,  indicates 
r;  twice  for  s;  three  times  for  t;  once  to  the 
right,  and  once  to  the  left,  for  u;  once  to  the 
right  for  w ;  twice  for  .v;  and  three  times  for  y. 
At  the  end  of  every  word  given,  the  left-hand 
needle,  moving  once  to  the  right,  to  the  cross, 
indicates  that  the  word  is  completed.  If  the 
receiver  understands  the  word,  he  signifies  it  by 
moving  the  same  pointer  twice  to  the  left,  and 
twice  to  the  right,  which  means  yes;  if  the 
communication  is  not  understood,  then  the 
needle  points  twice  to  the  right,  and  twice  to  the 
left,  which  indicates  7io.  The  original  word  is 
then  repeated ;  if  figures  are  wanted,  the  mo- 
tions for  each  letter  are  doubled.  Previously 
to  giving  a  signal,  the  attention  of  the  operator 
is  called  by  the  ringing  of  a  bell,  which  is 


RAILWAY  TELEGRAPH.  145 

accomplished  by  an  apparatus  as  simple  as  it  is 
ingenious.* 

That  communications  by  this  means  may 
often  be  of  great  importance,  is  evident,  from 
many  newspaper  paragraphs.  The  following 
appeared  in  the  early  part  of  1847 :  "  On  Friday 
evening  the  following  message  was  received  at 
the  Chesterfield  station :  '  Tell  Derby,  a  Mr.  H. 
has  escaped  from  the  York  Asylum,  and  is  ,• 
supposed  to  have  fire-arms  about  his  person. 
Search  all  the  trains  from  York.  He  is  tall, 
has  a  crooked  nose,  and  has  a  green  coat  with 
pockets  at  the  side.  Tell  the  police  to  look 
out.'  To  this  messaci:e  another  succeeded  from 
Leeds :  '  He  is  caught  at  Leeds ;  they  have  him 
quite  secure.'  " 

An  establishment  has  lately  been  opened 
near  the  Bank  of  England,  in  which  telegraphic 
intelligence  may  be  despatched,  or  received,  in 
ail  the  principal  towns  of  our  country.  The 
difficulties  which  have  existed  in  reference  to 
sub-marine  telegraphs  appear  to  have  been 
overcome;  for  the  time  occupied  from  the  com- 
mencement of  carrying  the  telegraph  across 
Portsmouth  harbour,  and  transmitting  signals, 
does  not  occupy  a  quarter-of-an-hour.  The 
telegraph,  which  has  the  appearance  of  an 
ordinary  rope,  is  coiled  into  one  of  the  dockyard 
boats,  one  end  of  it  being  made  fast  on  shore ; 
and,  as  the  boat  is  pulled  across,  the  telegraphic 

*  For  a  fulle?  account  of  the  electric  telegraph,  see  "  The 
Visitor,"  for  January,  February,  and  .March,  IStS ;    from 
which  many  facts,  now  given,  liave  been  taken. 
13 


146  ELECTRICITY. 

rope  is  gradually  paid  out  over  the  stern,  its 
superior  gravity  causing  it  to  sink  to  the  bot- 
tom immediately.  The  telegraph  consists  of 
but  this  line ;  and,  unlike  those  along  the 
various  railways,  requires  no  return  wires  to 
perfect  the  circuit.  The  electric  fluid  is  trans- 
mitted from  the  batteries  in  the  dockyard, 
through  the  submersed  insulated  wire  to  the 
opposite  shore ;  the  fluid  returning  to  the  nega- 
tive pole  through  the  water  without  the  aid  of 
any  metallic  conductor,  except  a  short  piece  of 
wire  thrown  over  the  dockyard  parapet  into  the 
water,  and  connecting  it  with  the  batteries. 
The  fact  of  the  water  acting  as  a  ready  return 
conductor,  is  established  beyond  question.  In 
1842,  Mr.  Snow  Harris,  when  proving  the 
efficiency  of  his  lightning-conductors  in  his 
experiments  from  this  dockyard  to  the  Orestes, 
exemplified  that  water  would  serve  to  complete 
the  electric  circuit.  On  that  occasion,  the 
distance  traversed  by  the  return  current  through 
the  water  was  but  trifling  compared  with  the 
space  accomplished  in  the  present  instance. 
The  batteries  used  are  Smee's;  and  a  very 
delicate  and  accurate  galvanic  detector,  invented 
by  Mr.  Hay,  the  chemical  lecturer  of  the  dock- 
yard, has  also  been  brought  into  requisition. 
Independent  of  the  simplicity  of  this  sub-marine 
telegraph,  it  has  an  advantage  which  even 
the  telegraphs  on  land  do  not  possess — in  the 
event  of  accident,  it  can  be  replaced  in  ten 
minutes. 

At  the  last  meeting  of  the  British  Association* 


ELECTRIC  TELEGRAPH.  147 

the  cliairman,  sir  R.  H.  Inglis,  thus  adverted 
to  the  progress  of  the  electric  telegraph,  from 
a  report  presented  to  the  Legislative  Council 
and  Assembly  of  New  Brunswick,  relative  to 
a  project  for  constructing  a  railway,  and  with 
it  a  line  of  electro -magnetic  telegraph,  from 
Halifax  to  Quebec : — 

"  The  system  is  daily  extending.  It  was, 
however,  in  the  United  States  of  America  that 
,it  was  first  adopted  on  a  great  scale,  by  pro- 
fessor Morse,  in  1844;  and  it  is  there  that  it  is 
now  already  developed  most  extensively.  Lines 
for  above  thirteen  hundred  miles  are  in  action, 
and  connect  those  states  with  Her  Majesty's 
Canadian  provinces ;  and  it  is  in  a  course  of 
development  so  rapid  that,  in  the  words  of  the 
report  of  Mr.  Wilkinson  to  my  distinguished 
friend,  his  excellency  sir  W.  E.  Colebrook,  the 
governor  of  New  Brunswick,  'no  schedule  of 
telegraphic  lines  can  now  be  relied  upon  for  a 
month  in  succession,  as  hundreds  of  miles  may 
be  added  in  that  space  of  time.  So  easy  an 
attainment  does  such  a  residt  appear  to  be,  and 
so  lively  is  the  interest  felt  in  its  accomplish- 
ment, that  it  is  scarcely  doubtful  that  the  whole 
of  the  populous  parts  of  the  United  States  will, 
within  two  or  three  years,  be  covered  with  a 
net-work,  like  a  spider's  web,  suspending  its 
principal  threads  upon  important  points,  along 
the  sea-board  of  the  Atlantic  on  one  side,  and 
upon  similar  points  along  the  lake  frontier  on 
the  other.'  I  am  indebted  to  the  same  report 
for  another  fact,  which  I  think  the  association 


148  ELECTRICITY. 

will  regard  with  equal  interest : — '  The  con- 
fidence in  the  efficiency  of  telegraphic  commu- 
nication has  now  become  so  established,  that 
the  most  important  commercial  transactions 
daily  transpire,  by  its  means,  between  corre- 
spondents several  hundred  miles  apart.  Ocular 
evidence  of  this  was  afforded  me  by  a  commu- 
nication a  few  minutes  old  between  a  merchant 
in  Toronto,  and  his  correspondent  in  New  York, 
distant  about  six  hundred  and  thirty-two  miles.* 
I  am  anxious  to  call  your  attention  to  the 
advantages  which  other  classes  also  may  ex- 
perience from  this  mode  of  communication,  as 
I  find  it  in  the  same  report : — '  When  the 
Hibernia  steamer  arrived  in  Boston,  in  Jan- 
uary, 1847,  with  the  news  of  the  scarcity  in 
Great  Britain,  Ireland,  and  other  parts  of 
Europe,  and  with  heavy  orders  for  agricultural 
produce,  the  farmers  in  the  interior  of  the 
states  of  New  York,  informed  of  the  state  of 
things  by  the  magnetic  telegraph,  were  throng- 
ing the  streets  of  Albany  with  innumerable 
team -loads  of  grain,  almost  as  quickly  after  the 
arrival  of  the  steamer  at  Boston,  as  the  news  of 
that  arrival  could  ordinarily  have  reached  them. 
I  may  add  that,  irrespectively  of  all  its  advan- 
tages to  the  general  community,  the  system 
appears  to  give  already  a  fair  return  of  interest 
to  the  individuals  or  companies  who  have 
invested  their  capital  in  its  application.'  " 

Professor  Morse  states,  as  the  result  of  im- 
provements in  this  telegraph,  the  president's 
message,  entire,  on  the  subject  of  the  war  with 


CONSTANCY-  OF  NATURE.  149 

Mexi(;o,  was  transmitted  with  perfect  accuracy 
at  the  rate  of  ninety-nine  letters  per  minute. 
His  skilful  operators  in  Washington  and  Balti- 
more printed  these  characters  at  the  rate  of 
iiinety-eight,  one  hundred-and-one,  one  hundred- 
and-eleven,  and  one  of  them  actually  printed 
one  hundred-and-seventeen  per  minute.  He 
must  be  an  expert  penman  who  can  write 
legibly  more  than  one  hundred  letters  per  min- 
ute ;  consequently,  this  mode  of  communication 
equals,  or  nearly  equals,  the  most  expeditious 
mode  of  recording  thought ! 

Here,  then,  we  close  our  series  of  illustrations 
of  what  is  popularly  termed  "  Natural  Magic," 
but,  strictly  speaking,  of  natural  laws  ;  having 
glanced  at  the  arrangements  of  mechanical  skill, 
terrestrial  phenomena,  chemical  wonders,  and 
the  effects  of  light,  heat,  and  electricity. 

In  doing  so,  we  are  reminded  of  the  words 
of  the  psalmist: — "  Thy  faithfulness  is  unto  all 
generations  :  thou  hast  established  the  earth, 
and  it  abideth.  They  continue  this  day  ac- 
cording to  thine  ordinances:  for  all  are  thy 
servants,"  Psa.  cxix.  90,  91. 

The  constancy  of  nature,  thus  so  clearly 
indicated,  is  illustrated  by  ordinary  experience. 
The  child  who  flies  his  kite  in  the  air,  or 
places  his  little  ship  on  the  surface  of  the  stream, 
or  gathers  together  the  dry  leaves  to  make  a 
blaze,  yea,  even  by  the  food  that  he  eats,  and 
by  his  movements  in  his  daily  walks,  proves 
that  nature  has  laws,  and  that  in  them  there  is 
continuance.  In  afler-life,  the  fact  is  still  more 
13* 


150  ELECTRICITY. 

obvious.  Every  day  and  every  night  bear 
their  explicit  testimony  to  it.  Water  finds  its 
way  to  the  ocean  by  a  thousand  channels ;  it  is 
raised  to  the  higher  regions  of  the  atmosphere 
to  be  dispersed  in  light  and  fleecy  clouds  over 
the  four  quarters  of  the  globe ;  and,  at  length, 
accomplishes  its  circuit,  by  fallin  in  showers 
on  the  dry  and  thirsty  ground. 

"  It  needs,  however,"  says  Chalmers,  "  the 
aid  of  philosophy  to  learn  how  unvarying 
nature  is  in  all  her  processes — how  even  her 
seeming  anomalies  can  be  traced  to  a  law  that 
is  inflexible — for  what  might  appear  at  first 
to  be  the  caprices  of  her  waywardness,  are,  in 
fact,  the  evolutions  of  a  mechanism  that  never 
changes — and  that,  the  more  thoroughly  she  is 
sifted  and  put  to  the  test  by  the  interrogations 
of  the  curious,  the  more  certainly  will  they 
find  that  she  walks  by  a  rule  which  knows  no 
abatement  ;  and  perseveres  with  obedient  foot- 
step in  that  even  course,  from  which  the  eye 
of  strictest  scrutiny  has  never  yet  detected  one 
hair's-breadth  of  deviation.  It  is  no  longer 
doubted  by  men  of  science,  that  every  remain- 
ing semblance  of  irregularity  in  the  universe 
is  due,  not  to  the  fickleness  of  nature,  but  to 
the  ignorance  of  man — that  her  most  hidden 
movements  are  conducted  with  a  uniformity  as 
rigorous  as  fate — that  even  the  fitful  agitations 
of  the  weather  have  their  law  and  principle — 
that  the  intensity  of  every  breeze,  and  the 
number  of  drops  in  every  shower,  and  the 
formation  of  every  cloud,  and  all  the  occurring 


CONSTANCY  OF  NATURE.  151 

alternations  of  storm  and  sunshine,  and  the 
endless  shiftings  of  temperature,  and  those  tre- 
mulous varieties  of  the  air  which  our  instru- 
ments have  enabled  us  to  discover,  but  have 
not  enabled  us  to  explain — that  still,  they 
follow  each  other  by  a  method  of  succession, 
which,  though  greatly  more  intricate,  is  yet  as 
absolute  in  itself  as  the  order  of  the  seasons,  or 
the  mathematical  courses  of  astronomy.  This 
is  the  impression  of  every  philosophical  mind 
with  regard  to  nature,  and  it  is  strengthened 
by  each  new  accession  that  is  made  to  science. 
The  more  we  are  acquainted  with  her,  the  more 
are  we  led  to  recognise  her  constancy,  and  to 
view  her  as  a  mighty,  though  complicated 
machine,  all  whose  results  are  sure,  and  all 
whose  workings  are  invariable  !" 

Who  is  not  filled  with  amazement  in  contem- 
plating the  power  of  the  Almighty?  Only  let  it 
be  his  will  to  set  one  of  his  agents  loose,  and  the 
earth  and  all  that  it  contains  shall  be  burned 
up.  Well  may  we  tremble  at  the  thought  of  that 
"  Avrath  which  is  revealed  from  heaven  against 
all  ungodliness  and  unrighteousness  of  men !" 
On  those  who  believe  not,,  the  curse  of  Jehovah 
abides.  Would  that  men  considered  how  fearful 
a  thing  it  is  to  fall  into  the  hands  of  tlie  living 
God !  Convinced  by  the  Holy  Spirit  of  their 
puilt  and  danger,  they  would  then  fly  to  the  only 
hope  set  before  them  in  the  gospel. 

"In  vain  we  seek  for  peace  with  God 
By  methods  of  our  own  : 
Jesus,  there's  nothing  but  thy  blood 
Can  bring  us  near  the  throne. 


152  ELECTRICITY. 

The  threateniiifjs  of  thy  broken  law 

Impress  our  souls  with  dread ; 
If  God  his  sword  of  vengeance  draw, 

It  strikes  our  spirits  dead. 

But  thine  ilhistrious  Sacrifice 

Hatli  answered  these  demands  ; 
And  peace,  and  pardon,  from  the  skies, 

Came  down  by  Jesus'  hands." 

It  lias  been  well  remarked  by  Bacon,  that  "  it 
is  heaven  on  earth  to  live  in  charity,  to  turn 
"upon  the  poles  of  truth,  and  to  rest  in  Provi- 
dence." The  tenderness  and  minuteness  of  the 
Divine  care  are  taught  us  by  our  Lord  himself: 
"  Fear  not  them  which  kill  the  body,  but  are 
not  able  to  kill  the  soul :  but  rather  fear  him 
which  is  able  to  destroy  both  soul  and  body  in 
hell.  Are  not  two  sparrows  sold  for  a  farthing? 
and  one  of  them  shall  not  fall  on  the  ground 
without  your  Father.  But  the  very  hairs  of 
your  head  are  all  numbered.  Fear  ye  not 
therefore,  ye  are  of  more  value  than  many 
sparrows,"  Matt.  x.  28—31. 

Let,  then,  all  who  are  reconciled  to  God 
through  the  death  of  his  Son,  be  comforted  by 
this  truth.  God  is  not  far  from  every  one  of 
"Us;  the  vast  and  the  minute  are  aljke  under  his 
control ;  and  he  has  graciously  promised  that 
all  things  shall  "  work  together  for  good  to 
them  that  love  God,  to  them  who  are  the  called 
according  to  his  purpose." 

In  the  ignorance  and  superstition  of  the 
human  mind,  applications  are  sometimes  made 
to  those  who  are  supposed  to  be  endowed  with 
magical  powers.  Sucli  practices  are  condemned 
in  the  Scriptures  as  vain  and  wicked.     Hence, 


THE  OVERRULING  PROVIDENCE  OF  GOD.   153 

says  the  prophet  Isaiah,  "  When  they  shall  say 
unto  you,  Seek  unto  them  that  have  familiar 
spirits,  and  unto  "wizards  that  peep,  and  that 
mutter  :  should  not  a  people  seek  unto  their 
God  ?  for  the  living  to  the  dead  ?  To  the  law 
and  to  the  testimony :  if  they  speak  not  accord- 
ing to  this  word,  it  is  because  there  is  no  light 
in  them,"  Isa.  viii.  19,  20. 


CHAPTER   X. 

Claims  of  the  church  of  Rome  to  miraculous  power — The 
Franciscans  anil  Dominicans— Tale  of  bishop  Remi — The 
etlect  of  relics— Friars'  pretended  dispossession  of  evil 
spirits — Tragical  event — Appearance  of  the  virgin  Mary 
to  shepherds  exposed— Pretended  miracle  of  the  Greek 
church. 

The  Romish  church,  in  all  ages,  has  affirmed 
that  to  it  has  been  granted  the  power  of  work- 
ing miracles.  Its  "Lives  of  the  Saints,"  a 
series  extended  avowedly  through  many  cen- 
turies, abound  with  relations  of  what  are  de- 
scribed as  supernatural  appearances,  but  which 
we  can  only  trace  to  a  very  different  cause. 

The  two  following  facts  are  given  by  Luther : 
— "  In  the  monastery  of  Isenach  stands  an 
image,  which  I  have  seen.  When  a  wealthy 
person  came  thither  to  pray  to  it,  (it  was  Mary 
with  her  child,)  the  child  turned  away  its 
face  from  the  sinner  to  the  mother,  as  if  it 
refused  to  give  ear  to  his  praying,  and  was 
therefore  to  seek  mediation  and  help  from 
Mary  the  mother.  But,  if  the  sinner  gave 
liberally  to  that  monastery,  then  the  child 
turned  to  him  again ;  and  if  he  promised  to  give 
more,  then  the  child  showed  itself  very  friendly 
and  loving,  and  stretched  out  his  arms  over 
154 


THE  FRANCISCANS  AND  DOMINICANS.         155 

him,  in  the  form  of  a  cross.  But  this  image 
was  made  hollow  within,  and  prepared  with 
locks,  lines,  and  screws;  and  behind  it  stood 
a  knave  to  move  them  ;  and  so  were  the 
people  mocked  and  deceived,  taking  it  to  be  a 
miracle  wrought  by  Divine  Providence  !" 

"  A  Dutchman,  making  his  confession  to  a 
mass-priest  at  Home,  promised,  by  an  oath,  to 
keep  secret  whatever  the  priest  would  impart 
to  him,  till  he  came  into  Germany,  upon  which 
the  priest  pretended  to  giA^e  him  a  leg  of  the 
ass  on  which  Christ  rode  into  Jerusalem,  very 
neatly  bound  up  in  a  silken  cloth,  and  said, 
'  This  is  the  holy  relic  on  which  the  Lord 
Christ  did  corporeally  sit,  and  Avith  his  sacred 
legs  touched  this  ass's  leg  !'  The  Dutchman 
Avas  AA'onderfally  pleased,  and  carried  the  holy 
relic  Avith  him  into  Germany,  and  Avhen  he 
came  upon  the  borders,  boasted  of  his  holy 
possession  in  the  presence  of  four  others  of 
his  comrades,  at  the  same  time  showing  it  to 
them  ;  but  each  of  the  •  four  having  also 
received  a  leg  from  the  prieet,  and  promised 
the  same  secrecy,  he  inquired  Avith  astonish- 
ment, *  Whether  that  ass  had  five  legs  !'" 

The  frauds  practised  by  the  professed  minis- 
ters of  religion,  during  the  ahnost  universal 
prevalence  of  popery,  most  affectingly  display 
the  depravity  of  the  human  heart,  and  the 
impious  tendency  of  false  rehgion.  Never, 
perhaps,  Avas  a  stratagem  acted  more  infamous 
than  one  in  Berne,  in  the  year  1509,  the  follow- 
ing account  of  Avhich    drawn   from  Euchet's 


156  PRETENDED  MIRACLES. 

"  Histoire  de  la  Reformation  en  Suisse,"  and 
Hottinger's  "Hist.  Eccles.  Helvet.,"  is  given  in 
Mosheim's  "Eccles.  Hist."  A  similar  account 
may  be  found  in  bishop  Burnet's  Travels 
through  France,  Italy,  etc.  The  stratagem  in 
question  was  the  consequence  of  a  rivalship 
between  the  Franciscans  and  Dominicans,  and 
more  especially  of  their  controversy  concerning 
the  immaculate  conception  of  the  virgin  Mary. 
The  former  maintained,  that  she  was  born 
without  the  blemish  of  original  sin  ;  the  latter 
asserted  the  contrary.  The  doctrine  of  the 
Franciscans,  in  an  age  of  darkness  and  super- 
stition, could  not  but  be  popular;  and  hence, 
the  Dominicans  lost  ground  from  day  to  day. 
To  support  the  credit  of  their  order,  they  re- 
solved, at  a  chapter  held  at  Vimpsen  in  the 
year  1504,  to  have  recourse  to  fictitious  visions 
and  dreams,  in  Avhich  the  people  at  that  time 
had  an  easy  faith  ;  and  they  determined  to 
make  Berne  the  scene  of  their  operations,  A 
person  named  Jetzcr,  who  was  extremely  sim- 
ple, and  much  inclined  to  austerities,  and  who 
had  taken  their  habit  as  a  lay-brother,  was 
chosen  as  the  instrument  of  the  delusions  they 
were  contriving.  One  of  the  four  Dominicans, 
who  had  undertaken  the  management  of  this 
plot,  conveyed  himself  secretly  into  Jetzer's 
cell;  and,  about  midnight,  appeared  to  him  in  a 
horrid  figure,  surrounded  Avith  howling  dogs, 
and  seemed  to  blow  fire  from  his  nostrils,  by 
the  means  of  a  box  of  combustibles  which  he 
held  near  his  mouth.    In  this  frightful  form,  he 


THE  FRANCISCANS  AND  DOMINICANS.         157 

approached  Jetzer's  bed,  told  him  that  he  was 
the  ghost  of  a  Dominican,  who  had  been  killed 
at  Paris,  as  a  judgment  from  heaven  for  laying 
aside  his  monastic  habit  ;  that  he  was  con- 
demned to  purgatory  for  this  crime  ;  adding, 
that,  by  his  means,  he  might  be  rescued  from 
his  misery,  which  was  beyond  expression. 
This  story,  accompanied  with  horrible  cries 
and  bowlings,  frightened  poor  Jetzer  out  of 
the  little  wits  he  had,  and  engaged  him  to 
promise  to  do  all  in  his  power  to  deliver  the 
Dominican  from  his  torment.  Upon  this,  the 
impostor  told  him,  that  nothing  but  the  most 
extraordinary  mortifications,  such  as  the  disci- 
pline of  the  whip,  performed  during  eight  days 
by  the  whole  monastery,  and  Jetzer's  lying 
prostrate,  in  the  form  of  one  crucified,  in  the 
chapel,  during  mass,  could  contribute  to  his 
deliverance.  He  added,  that  the  performance 
of  these  mortifications  would  draw  down  upon 
Jetzer  the  peculiar  protection  of  the  blessed 
virgin  ;  and  concluded  by  saying  that  he 
should  appear  to  him  again,  accompanied  with 
two  other  spirits. 

Morning  was  no  sooner  come,  than  Jetzer 
gave  an  account  of  this  apparition  to  the  rest 
of  the  convent,  who  all  unanimously  advised 
him  to  undergo  the  discipline  that  was  enjoined  ; 
and  every  one  consented  to  endure  his  share 
of  the  task  imposed.  The  deluded  simpleton 
obeyed,  and  was  admired  as  a  saint  by  the 
multitude  that  crowded  about  the  convent, 
while  the  four  friars,  that  managed  the  impos- 
11 


158  PRETENDED  MIRACLES. 

ture,  magnified,  in  the  most  pompous  manner, 
the  miracle  of  this  apparition,  in  their  sermons, 
and  in  their  discourse.  The  night  after,  the 
apparition  was  renewed,  with  the  addition  of 
two  impostors,  dressed  like  devils;  and  Jetzer's 
faith  was  augmented  by  hearing  from  the 
spectre  all  the  secrets  of  his  life  and  thoughts, 
which  the  impostors  had  learned  from  his 
confessor.  In  this,  and  some  subsequent 
scenes,  (the  detail  of  whose  enormities  we  shall 
here  omit,)  the  impostor  talked  much  to  Jetzer 
of  the  Dominican  order,  which  he  said  was 
peculiarly  dear  to  the  blessed  virgin  ;  he  added, 
that  the  virgin  knew  herself  to  be  conceived  in 
original  sin  ;  that  the  doctors  who  taught  the 
contrary  were  in  purgatory  ;  that  the  blessed 
virgin  abhorred  the  Franciscans  for  making 
her  equal  with  her  Son;  and  that  the  town  of 
Berne  would  be  destroyed  for  harbouring  such 
plagues  within  her  walls.  In  one  of  these 
apparitions,  Jetzer  imagined  that  the  voice  of 
the  spectre  resembled  that  of  the  prior  of  the 
convent,  and  he  was  not  mistaken ;  but,  not 
suspecting  a  fraud,  he  gave  little  attention  to 
this.  The  prior  appeared  in  various  forms, 
sometimes  in  that  of  St.  Barbara,  at  others,  in 
that  of  St.  Bernard;  at  length,  he  assumed 
that  of  the  virgin  Mary  ;  and,  for  that  purpose 
clothed  himself  in  the  habits  that  were  em- 
ployed to  adorn  the  statue  of  the  virgin  in  the 
great  festivals  ;  the  little  images,  that  on  these 
days  are  placed  on  the  altars,  were  made  use  of 
for  angels,  which,  being  tied  to  a  cord  that 


THE  FKANCISCANS  AND  DOMINICANS.  159 

passed  through  a  pulley  over  Jetzer's  head, 
rose  up  and  down,  and  danced  about  the 
pretended  virgin  to  increase  the  delusion.  The 
virgin  thus  equipped,  addressed  a  long  dis- 
course to  Jetzer,  in  which,  among  other  things, 
she  told  him  that  she  was  conceived  in  original 
sin,  though  she  had  remained  but  a  short  time 
under  that  blemish.  She  gave  him,  as  a  mi- 
raculous proof  of  her  presence,  a  host,  or 
consecrated  Avafer,  which  turned  from  white  to 
red  in  a  moment :  and,  after  various  visits,  in 
which  the  greatest  enormities  were  transacted, 
the  virgin- prior  told  Jetzer,  that  she  would 
give  him  the  most  affecting  and  undoubted 
marks  of  her  Son's  love,  by  imprinting  on  him 
the  five  wounds  that  pierced  Jesus  on  the  cross, 
as  she  had  done  before  to  St.  Lucia  and  St. 
Catharine.  Accordingly,  she  took  his  hand 
by  force,  and  struck  a  large  nail  through  it, 
which  threw  the  poor  dupe  into  the  greatest 
torment. 

The  next  night,  this  masculine  virgin 
brought,  as  he  pretended,  some  of  the  linen 
in  which  Christ  had  been  buried,  to  soften  the 
wound,  and  gave  Jetzer  a  soporific  draught, 
which  had  in  it  the  blood  of  an  unbaptized 
child,  some  grains  of  incense,  and  of  conse- 
crated salt,  some  quicksilver,  and  the  hairs  of 
the  eye-brows  of  a  child,  all  of  which,  with 
some  stupifying  and  poisonous  ingredients, 
were  mingled  together  by  the  prior  with  magic 
ceremonies,  and  a  solemn  dedication  of  himself 
to  the  devil  in  the  hope  of  his  succour.     This 


160  PRETENDED  MIRACLES. 

dranglit  tlireAv  the  poor  wretch  into  a  sort  of 
lethargy,  during  which  the  monks  imprinted 
on  his  body  the  other  four  wounds  of  Christ, 
in  such  a  manner  that  he  feh  no  pain.  When 
he  awoke,  he  found,  to  his  imspeakable  joy, 
these  impressions  on  his  body,  and  came  at 
last  to  fancy  himself  a  representative  of  Christ 
in  the  various  parts  of  his  passion.  He  was, 
in  this  state,  exposed  to  the  admiring  multi- 
tude on  the  principal  altar  of  the  convent,  to 
the  great  mortification  of  the  Franciscans. 
The  Dominicans  gave  him  some  other  draughts, 
that  threw  him  into  convulsions,  which  were 
followed  by  a  voice  conveyed  through  a  pipe 
into  the  mouths  of  two  images,  one  of  Mary, 
and  another  of  the  child  Jesus  ;  the  former 
of  which  had  tears  painted  upon  its  cheeks  in 
a  lively  manner.  The  little  Jesus  asked  his 
mother,  by  means  of  this  voice,  (which  was 
that  of  the  prior,)  why  she  wept?  and  she 
answered,  that  her  tears  were  owing  to  the 
impious  manner  in  which  the  Franciscans 
attributed  to  her  the  honour  that  was  due  to 
him,  in  saying  that  she  was  conceived  and 
born  without  sin. 

The  apparitions,  false  prodigies,  and  abomi- 
nable stratagems  of  these  Dominicans  were 
repeated  every  night;  and  the  matter  was  at 
length  BO  grossly  over-acted,  that,  simple  as 
Jetzer  Avas,  he  at  last  discovered  it,  and  had 
almost  killed  the  prior,  who  appeared  to  him 
one  night  in  the  form  of  the  virgin,  with  a 
crown  on  her  head.     The  Dominicans,  fearing. 


THE  FRANCISCANS  AND  DOMINICANS.  161 

by  this  discovery,  to  lose  the  fruits  of  tlieir 
imposture,  thought  the  best  mefcliod  would  be  to 
own  the  whole  matter  to  Jetzer,  and  to  engage 
him,  by  the  most  seducing  promises  of  opulence 
and  glory,  to  carry  on  the  cheat.  Jetzer  was 
persuaded,  or  at  least  he  appeared  to  be  so. 
The  Dominicans,  however,  suspecting  that  he 
was  not  entirely  gained  over,  resolved  to  poison 
him ;  but  his  constitution  was  so  vigorous 
that,  though  they  gave  him  poison  five  several 
times,  he  was  not  destroyed  by  it.  One 
day,  they  sent  him  a  loaf  prepared  with  some 
spices,  which,  growing  green  in  a  day  or  two, 
he  threw  a  piece  of  it  to  a  wolf's  Avhelps,  that 
were  in  the  monastery,  and  it  killed  them 
immediately.  At  another  time,  they  poisoned 
the  host,  or  consecrated  wafer,  but  he  escaped 
once  more.  In  short,  there  were  no  means  of 
securing  him,  which  the  most  detestable  im- 
piety and  barbarity  could  invent,  that  they  did 
not  put  in  practice;  till,  finding  at  last  an  oppor- 
tunity of  getting  out  of  the  convent,  he  threw 
himself  into  the  hands  of  the  magistrates,  to 
whom  he  made  a  full  discovery  of  this  infernal 
plot.  The  affair  being  brought  to  Rome,  com- 
missaries were  sent  from  thence  to  examine  the 
matter ;  and  the  whole  cheat  being  fully  proved, 
the  four  friars  were  solemnly  degraded  from 
their  priesthood,  and  were  burned  alive,  on  the 
last  day  of  May,  1509.  Jetzer  died  some  time 
after  at  Constance,  having  poisoned  himself, 
as  was  believed  by  some.  Had  his  life  been 
taken  away  before  he  had  found  an  opportu- 
14* 


162  PRETENDED  MIRACLES. 

nity  of  making  the  discovery  already  mentioned, 
this  execrable  ai^d  horrid  plot,  which,  in  many 
of  its  circumstances,  Avas  conducted  with  art, 
would  probably  have  been  handed  down  to 
posterity  as  a  stupendous  miracle. 

When  the  Eeformation  was  spread  in  Lithu- 
ania, prince  Radzviil  was  so  affected  by  it,  that 
he  went  in  person  to  pay  the  pope  all  possible 
honours.  His  hohness,  on  this  occasion,  pre- 
sented him  with  a  precious  box  of  relics.  The 
prince  having  returned  home,  some  monks  in- 
treated  permission  to  try  the  effect  of  these 
relics  on  a  demoniac,  who  had  hitherto  re- 
sisted every  kind  of  exorcism.  They  Avere 
brought  into  the  church  with  solemn  pomp, 
and  deposited  on  the  altar,  accompanied  by  an 
innumerable  crowd.  After  the  usual  conjura- 
tions, which  were  unsuccessful,  they  appHed 
the  relics.  The  demoniac  instantly  recovered. 
The  people  called  out,  "  A  miracle !"  and  the 
prince,  lifting  his  hands  and  eyes  to  heaven, 
felt,  it  is  said,  his  faith  confirmed.  In  this 
transport  of  joy,  he  observed  that  a  young 
gentleman,  who  was  keeper  of  this  treasure  of 
relics,  smiled,  and  by  his  motions  ridiculed  the 
miracle.  The  prince  indignantly  took  the 
young  keeper  of  the  relics  to  task  ;  who,  on  the 
promise  of  pardon,  gave  the  following  secret 
intelligence  concerning  them.  In  travelling 
from  Rome  he  had  lost  the  box  of  relics,  and, 
not  daring  to  mention  it,  he  obtained  a  similar 
one,  which  he  had  filled  with  small  bones  of 
dogs  and  cats,  and  other  trifles  similar  to  what 


GROSS  IMPOSTURE.  163 

were  lost.  He  boped  he  might  be  forgiven  for 
smiling,  when  he  found  such  a  collection  of 
rubbish  was  idolized  with  such  pomp,  and  had 
even  the  virtue  of  expelling  demons  !  It  was 
by  the  assistance  of  this  box  that  the  prince 
discovered  the  gross  impositions  of  the  monks 
and  demoniacs,  and  Radzviil  afterwards  became 
a  zealous  Lutheran.* 

To  take  another  case,  for  which  we  are  in- 
debted to  Scott's  "  History  of  the  Lives  of  Pro- 
testant Reformers  in  Scotland."  At  the  east  end 
of  the  village  of  Musselburgh  there  was  a 
chapel  dedicated  to  the  virgin  Mary ;  its  proper 
name  being  Loretta,  though  it  was  vulgarly 
called  Alareit,  or  Lawreit.  There  was  also  a 
chapel  of  the  same  name  in  Perth,  and  many 
credulous  people  of  both  these  places,  as  well 
as  the  people  of  Loretta,  in  Italy,  believed  that 
their  chapel  contained  within  it  the  identical 
small  brick-built  house  in  which  Mary  had 
dwelt  at  Nazareth,  and  that  it  had  been  con- 
veyed miraculously  from  its  original  seat.  At 
the  time  now  referred  to,  it  was  announced  in 
Edinburgh,  and  the  neighbouring  places,  that  a 
miracle  would  be  performed  on  a  certain  day, 
and  a  great  number  of  persons  consequently 
assembled.  A  stage  was  erected  on  the  out- 
side of  the  chapel,  and,  at  length,  a  young  man, 
apparently  blind,  was  led  forward.  Many  of 
those  who  were  present  knew  this  person,  and 
had,  perhaps,  often  pitied  his  circumstances. 
After  various  prayers  and  ceremonies,  his  eyes, 
*  D'Israeli's  "Curiosities,"  p.  87. 


164  PRETENDED  MIRACLES. 

to  the  satisfaction  of  the  people,  appeared  to  be 
perfectly  restored.  Eeturning  thanks  to  the 
jDriests  and  friars,  he  now  left  the  stage,  and 
received  the  congratulations,  of  the  people,  some 
of  whom  gave  him  money. 

The  true  character  of  the  treatment  of  his 
case  will  appear  from  the  following  narrative. 
He  had  been  a  poor  friendless  boy,  who  had 
attended  the  sheep  belonging  to  the  ruins  of 
Scienna,  or  Sciennes,  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile 
from  Edinburgh.  It  was  one  of  his  amuse- 
ments to  turn  up  the  whites  of  his  eyes  ;  and, 
so  eiFectually  did  he  do  this,  as  to  appear,  at 
pleasure,  perfectly  blind.  The  nuns  spoke  of 
him  to  some  priests  and  friars,  and  they  laid 
the  plan  which  was  afterwards  carried  out. 
The  child  was  secreted  for  some  years  from 
public  view,  and,  when  it  was  supposed  he  was 
so  altered  as  not  to  be  recognised,  he  was  sent 
forth  a  blind  mendicant,  accompanied  by  a 
person  who  believed  he  was  born  so,  and  had 
previously  been  supported  by  the  nuns.  Bound 
by  a  solemn  but  rash  vow  to  affect  blindness, 
he  travelled  the  country  for  a  considerable 
time,  till  at  length  the  trick  of  his  restoration 
was  played  as  has  already  been  stated. 

Among  the  numerous  publications  of  M. 
Guizot,  is  an  edition  of  the  "  Chronicles  of 
Frodvard,"  which,  in  addition  to  much  historical 
matter,  ascribes  many  miracles  to  the  bishops  of 
Rheims.  One  of  them,  bishop  Remi,  it  is  said, 
"  was  in  the  house  of  a  wealthy  female  relative, 
conversing  with  her  on  religious  topics,  when  her 


THE  MADONNA.  165 

butler  announced  that  there  was  no  more  wine  in 
the  cellars.  The  bishop,  seeing  her  embarrass- 
ment, having  previously  entered  some  of  the 
lower  apartments  himself,  proposed  to  accom- 
pany her  to  the  cellar.  AVhen  they  entered  it, 
he  inquired  whether  there  was  not  a  little  wine 
remaining  in  a  particular  cask.  The  butler 
replied,  that  there  was  only  enough  to  preserve 
it  from  decay.  The  bishop  then  desired  him 
to  shut  the  door,  and  not  to  stir  from  his  posi- 
tion, and  passing  to  the  other  end  to  the  cask, 
which  was  pretty  large,  he  made  the  sign  of 
the  cross  and  prayed.  Soon  the  wine  rose  up 
out  of  the  cask,  and  flooded  over  the  cellar- 
floor  !"  Now,  the  fact  of  the  bishop's  visit  to 
the  cellar  first ;  of  a  butler,  it  might  be,  not 
very  acute  in  vision,  being  desired,  after  lock- 
ing the  door,  to  exclude  all  witnesses,  and  to 
stand  at  a  distance ;  and,  of  a  relation  of  the 
bishop,  who  might  easily  be  made  a  con- 
federate, being  engaged ;  is  surely  more  than 
sufficient  to  set  aside  the  whole  tale.  Moreover, 
the  lady  gave,  as  the  result  of  the  prodigy, 
which  many  a  conjuror  has  easily  surpassed,  a 
portion  of  her  estate  in  perpetuity  to  the  bishop 
and  his  church !  Prodigies  of  the  Eomish 
church  in  abundance  have  had  precisely  the 
same  issue. 

In  an  official  and  authorized  Roman 
Catholic  publication,  printed  in  1831,  wt  are 
told  that  not  less  than  twenty-six  pictures  of 
tlie  virgin  JMary  opened  and  shut  their  eyes  at 
Home  during  the  years  1796  and  1797,  which 


166  PRETENDED  MIRACLES. 

was  supposed  to  be  an  indication  of  her  pe- 
culiar favour  to  the  inhabitants  of  that  city  for 
the  opposition  which  they  presented  to  the 
French.  Among  the  subscribers  to  this  work 
are  the  four  archbishops  and  eleven  bishops  of 
Ireland. 

"An  officer  in  the  British  army  described  to 
me,"  says  Mr.  Hughes,  "  an  extraordinary 
scene  which  he  witnessed  in  Messina,  in  1811, 
occasioned  by  a  picture  of  the  virgin,  in  a 
church  much  venerated  by  the  populace.  An 
inhabitant  going  in,  according  to  custom,  to 
offer  up  his  adoration  to  the  Madonna,  sud- 
denly ran  out  again,  exclaiming,  that  '  the 
virgin  was  iveeping  for  calamity  impending 
over  the  city.'  The  people  rushed  in  crowds 
to  the  church  ;  when,  lo !  to  their  astonish- 
ment and  dismay,  the  tears  were,  as  reported, 
trickling  over  the  cheeks  of  their  beloved 
patroness;  upon  which,  the  whole  multitude 
began  to  weep,  and  howl,  and  beat  their 
breasts,  expecting  nothing  less  than  an  earth- 
quake, or  a  French  invasion.  At  length  one, 
more  acute  than  the  rest,  observed  that  some 
water  was  passing  through  the  roof  of  the 
church,  and  dripping  upon  the  canvas,  pointed 
out  the  circumstance;  but  he  nearly  fell  a 
victim  to  his  want  of  judgment,  for  the  people 
were  determined  to  have  a  miracle  ;  nor  could 
they  be  persuaded  to  disperse  till  the  arch- 
bishop, a  venerable  old  man,  mounted  a  ladder, 
and  wiped  the  lady's  eyes  with  a  napkin  ;  after 
this,  he  drew  the  picture  into  a  more  perpeu- 


ASSERTED  EXORCISM.  167 

dicular  situation,  telling  his  audience,  that,  as 
the  cause  was  luckily  removed,  their  patroness 
had  promised  to  weep  no  more."* 

The  author  of  "  Rome  in  the  Nineteenth 
Century"  says :  "  Piivate  miracles  affecting 
individuals  go  on  quite  commonly  every  day 
without  exciting  the  smallest  attention.  These 
generally  consist  in  procuring  prizes  in  the 
lottery,  curing  diseases,  and  casting  out  devils. 
The  mode  of  effecting  this  last  description  of 
miracle  was  communicated  to  me  the  other  day 
by  an  abate  here,  and,  as  I  think  it  extremely 
curious,  I  shall  narrate  it  to  you. 

"  It  seems  that  a  certain  friar  had  preached 
a  sermon  during  Lent,  upon  the  state  of  the 
woman  mentioned  in  Scripture  possessed  with 
seven  devils,  with  so  much  eloquence  and  unc- 
tion, that  a  simple  countryman  who  heard  him 
went  home,  and  became  persuaded  that  seven 
devils  had  got  possession  of  him.  The  idea 
haunted  his  mind,  and  subjected  him  to  the 
most  dreadful  terrors  ;  till,  unable  to  bear  his 
sufferings,  he  unbosomed  himself  to  his  ghostly 
father,  and  asked  his  counsel.  The  falher,  who 
had  some  smattering  of  science,  bethought  him- 
self, at  last,  of  a  way  to  rid  the  honest  man  of 
his  devils  and  his  money  together.  He  told 
him  it  would  be  necessary  to  combat  with  the 
devils  singly,  and,  on  the  day  appointed,  when 
the  poor  man  came  with  a  sum  of  money — 
without  which  the  good  father  told  him  the 
devil  never  could  be  dislodged — he  bound  the 
«  Hughes's  Travels,  Vol.  I.  p.  125. 


168  PKETENDED  MIRACLES. 

cliain  connected  with  an  electrical  machine  in 
an  adjoining  chamber  round  his  body — lest,  as 
he  said,  the  devil  should  fly  away  with  him — 
and,  having  warned  him  that  the  shock  would 
be  terrible  when  the  devil  went  out  of  him,  he 
left  him  praying  devoutly  before  an  image  of 
the  Madonna  ;  and  after  some  time,  gave  him  a 
pretty  smart  shock,  at  which  the  poor  wretch 
fell  insensible  on  the  floor  from  terror.  As 
soon  as  he  recovered,  however,  he  protested 
that  he  had  seen  the  devil  fly  away  out  of  his 
mouth,  breathing  blue  flames  and  sulphur,  and 
that  he  felt  himself  greatly  relieved.  Seven 
electrical  shocks  at  due  intervals  having  ex- 
tracted seven  sums  of  money  from  him,  together 
with  the  seven  devils,  the  man  was  cured,  and 
a  great  miracle  performed  ! 

"To  us  this  transaction  seemed  a  notable 
piece  of  credulous  superstition  on  the  one  hand, 
and  fraudulent  knavery  on  the  other ;  but  to 
our  friend  the  abate,  it  only  seemed  an  ingeni- 
ous device  to  cure  of  his  fears  a  simpleton,  over 
whose  mind  reason  could  have  no  power — as 
the  physician  cured  a  lady  who  fancied  she  had 
a  nest  of  live  earwigs  in  her  stomach,  not  by 
arguing  Avith  her  on  the  absurdity  of  such  a 
notion,  but  by  showing  her  that  an  earwig  was 
killed  by  a  single  drop  of  oil,  and  making  her 
swallow  a  quantity  of  it. 

"  But  with  respect  to  the  man  and  his 
devils,  I  would  ask,  why  inspire  superstitious 
terrors  to  conquer  them  by  deceit,  and  why 
make  him  pay  so  much  money  ?     Yet  this  is 


THE  CONSTITUTIONALIST  AND  HIS  BROTHER.     169 

nothing  to  otlier  things  that  are  of  daily  occur- 
rence." 

In  some  of  the  provinces  of  France,  miracles 
are  stated  continually  to  be  performed,  and  the 
peasants  blindly  adopt  all  the  extravagances 
presented  to  their  acceptance.  In  the  little 
town  of  Fecamp  there  is  a  fountain,  the  water 
of  which  is  said  to  do  wonders ;  and  thousands 
of  pilgrims  annually  resort  to  it  from  the  neigh  - 
bouring  country.  The  cure  distributes  to  each 
a  bottle  of  this  water,  accompanying  it  with 
some  Latin  words,  receiving  two  sous  for  his 
trouble.  This  amounts  to  a  considerable  sum. 
In  another  town,  Andelys,  there  is  also  a  foun- 
tain which,  it  is  said,  possesses,  once  a  year,  the 
sovereign  virtue  of  curing  rheumatism,  palsy,  and 
nervous  affections.  The  pilgrims  either  plunge 
the  diseased  member  into  the  water,  or  throw 
themselves  in  entirely,  and,  afterwards,  follow 
the  procession  in  their  wet  clothes. 

In  the  month  of  June,  1824,  in  a  small 
village,  called  Artes,  near  Hostalrich,  about 
twelve  leagues  from  Barcelona,  there  was  a 
constitutionalist,  and  therefore  one  opposed  to 
the  ruling  power,  with  which  the  priesthood 
was  fully  identified.  This  man  being  at  the 
point  of  death,  his  brother  called  on  the  curate, 
and  requested  him  to  come  and  administer  the 
sacraments.  The  curate  refused;  affirming 
that  the  brother,  as  a  constitutionaHst,  was  a 
villain,  an  impious  wretch,  an  enemy  to  God 
and  man ;  he  was  lost,  Avithout  mercy,  and  that, 
therefore,  it  was  useless  to  confess  him.     The 

15 


170  PRETENDED  MIRACLES. 

brother  asked  whence  this  iutormation  was 
derived;  the  reply  was,  that  God  himseh'  told 
the  curate  this  during  the  saerifioe  of  the  mass. 
In  valii  the  brother  reiterated  his  intreaties;  the 
ci.rate  was  inexorable.  A  lew  davs  alter,  the 
constitutionalist  expired,  and  the  brothej*  de- 
manded for  the  body  the  rites  of  sepulture. 
The  curate  refused,  alleirini!:  that  the  soul  of 
tlie  departed  was  lost,  and  that  it  was  in  vain 
to  inter  the  body ;  adding,  '*  For  during  the 
night,  the  devils  will  come  and  carry  it  away; 
and  in  forty  days,  you  yourself  will  meet  the 
same  fate." 

The  Spaniard  not  treating  this  declaration 
with  implicit  faith,  but,  with  his  suspicions 
awakened,  watched  during  tlie  night,  with  his 
pistols  loaded,  beside  the  bv")dy  oi  his  brother. 
Between  twelve  and  one  o'clock,  a  knock  was 
heard  at  the  door,  and  a  voice  exclaimed,  "  I 
command  you  to  open  the  door,  in  the  name  of 
the  living  God  !  Open  !  if  not.  your  instant  ruin 
is  at  hand.''  The  Spaniard  refused ;  and 
shortly  aJtex  he  saw  enter,  by  the  window, 
three  figures,  covered  with  the  skins  of  wild 
beasts,  provided  with  horns,  claws,  and  tails; 
and,  as  they  were  about  caiTyiug  off  the  cotfin 
containing  the  body,  the  Spaniard  fired,  and 
shot  one  of  them  dead;  the  others  took  to 
flight;  he  fired  after  them,  and  wounded  both. 
One  of  them  died  in  a  few  minutes,  the  other 
escaped.  In  the  morning,  a  discovery  was 
made:  the  people  went  to  church,  but  there 
was  no  curate  to  ofEciate :  it  was  found  shortly 


ROillSU  CANONIZATION.  171 

after,  on  examining  those  who  harl  been  shot, 
that  one  was  the  curate,  the  other  the  vicar; 
the  person  wounded  was  the  sacristan,  who  con- 
fessed the  whole  plot.  The  case  was  brought 
before  the  tribune  of  Barcelona.* 

And  yet,  despite  of  the  frequent  exposure  of  its 
wicked  pretences,  the  Romi.sh  church  contends 
at  this  hour  as  earnestly  for  the  possession  of 
miraculous  endowments  as  it  ever  did.  As  it 
claims  to  be  imchangeaVjle,  this  is  manifestly 
its  only  course.  Accordingly,  it  has  been 
affirmed  of  the  last  persons  added  to  the 
Eomish  calendar,  only  a  few  years  ago,  that 
they  wrought  miracles.  The  time  of  canoni- 
zation is  sagaciously  deferred  till  two  centuries 
after  the  decease  of  the  parties ;  but  there  is  no 
difficulty  in  seeing  that  all  the  avowed  devia- 
tions from  the  laws  of  nature  attributed  to  the 
canonized,  are  impious  pretences.  Dr.  Harsnett, 
afterwards  archbishop  of  York,  said,  long  since, 
"  None  but  the  pope  and  his  scholars  can 
cogge  a  miracle  kindlie,  and  he  and  his  priests 
can  despatch  a  miracle  as  easily  as  a  squirrel 
can  cracke  a  nutte,  A  miracle  in  the  bread, 
a  miracle  in  the  wine,  a  miracle  in  the  holy 
water,  a  miracle  in  holy  oyle,  a  mirncle  in 
lamps,  candles,  beades,  bones,  stones;  nothing 
done  in  religion  without  a  miracle  and  a  vice." 
And  even  Petrarch  thus  wrote  : — 

*•  Fountain  of  erief,  abode  of  anerer, 
School  of  errors,  and  tempie  of  heresy  : 
Formerly  Rome,  now  Babylon  false  and  gnflty  : 
Through  whom  there  are  so  many  tears  and  sighs ; 

*  Forei^  Quarterly  Review. 


172  PRETENDED  MIRACLES. 

O  mistress  of  deceit ;  O  prison  of  anger, 

Where  tlie  good  perish,  and   the  bad  are  cherished  and 

engendered. 
Hell  of  the  living !    It  will  be  a  great  miracle 
If  Clirist  is  not  angry  with  thee  at  last." 

So  recently  as  the  beginning  of  the  year 
1847,  the  virgin  Mary  was  said  to  have  ap- 
peared to  two  shepherds,  in  the  district  of 
Grenoble.  The  so-called  miracle  was  blazed 
forth  far  and  wide,  and  an  engraved  repre- 
sentation of  the  appearance  was  widely  distri- 
buted. Nor  was  this  all :  it  was  said  that  the 
virgin  sat  on  a  stone  during  the  interview, 
and  that,  on  this  being  broken,  after  she  was 
gone,  there  was  found  in  the  interior  an  image 
of  our  Lord  !  But  what  are  the  facts  that  have 
been  discovered  since  ?  That  the  priests  em- 
ployed a  lady  to  personate  the  virgin;  and 
that  the  figure  in  the  stone  was  traced  by  a 
French  officer,  who,  with  a  companion,  placed 
it  on  that  spot  for  a  joke;  as,  in  Italy,  objects 
of  modern  manufacture  are  buried,  and  then 
dug  up,  to  be  passed  off  on  the  unwary  as 
really  antique !  In  such  instances,  however, 
money  is  frequently  made;  while  the  French 
officers  had  no  mercenary  intentions. 

We  close  these  exposures  with  a  pretended 
miracle  of  the  Greek  church.  At  the  church 
of  the  Holy  Sepulchre  at  Jerusalem,  there  is 
annually  a  ceremony  to  which  multitudes  are 
attracted.  It  is  pretended  by  the  Greek 
priests,  that,  on  a  particular  day,  a  sacred  fire 
proceeds  from  the  sepulchre :  the  pilgrims, 
therefore,    congregated    at    Jerusalem,   attend 


THE  GREEK  FIRE.  173 

there  to  light  theirs;  these  are  then  extin- 
guished, and  carefully  preserved,  to  be  added 
to  the  garment  dipped  in  the  Jordan  when 
they  are  buried.  All,  however,  await  the 
arrival  of  the  Turkish  governor;  for,  "till  he 
arrives,  the  miracle  is  not  certainly  to  take 
place." 

To  quote  from  some  travellers  who  were 
present  at  the  ceremony,  during  the  year  1846, 
we  are  informed  that  "  it  was  a  very  remark- 
able scene.  The  large  area  of  the  church  was 
densely  crowded;  but,  around  the  sepulchre,  a 
space  of  about  four  feet  wide  was  kept  clear  by 
a  double  line  of  Tui'kish  soldiers.  At  short 
intervals  of  time,  a  number  of  infatuated  and 
highly-excited  men  and  boys  entered  in,  and, 
rushed  round  and  round  with  desperate  energy, 
screaming  and  hallooing  like  so  many  maniacs. 
Some  stood  upright  on  a  friend's  shoulders, 
who  ran  with  the  rest  till  an  unlucky  stumble 
threw  both  to  the  ground.  One  old  man  was 
particularly  conspicuous ;  he  generally  headed 
the  rest,  and  seemed  to  be  fitter  for  a  strait- 
waistcoat  than  to  be  the  leader  of  a  religious 
procession.  He  danced,  shouted,  and  threw 
himself  into  all  sorts  of  postures.  At  last  he 
mounted  on  another  frantic  devotee,  and  urged 
him  to  his  utmost  speed:  they  continued  their 
mad  course  till  he  was  thrown  down  violently 
against  two  of  the  soldiers  ;  they  seized  him  by 
the  hair  of  his  head,  and  hauled  him  out  of  the 
church.  In  a  few  minutes,  however,  he  re- 
turned and  was  more  outrageous  than  before. 
15* 


^ 


174  PRETENDED  MRACLES. 

Thus,  for  two  hours,  the  church  was  a  scene 
of  noise,  confusion,  and  frantic  excitement.  At 
two  o'clock  the  governor  arrived,  and  quietly 
took  his  seat.  The  racing  pilgrims  were  driven 
off  the  course,  and,  shortly  after,  a  procession 
of  priests,  headed  by  the  patriarch,  and  fol- 
lowed by  a  motely  group  of  ragged  fellows, 
bearing  shabby  banners,  walked  slowly  round 
three  times,  chanting  some  prayers.  The 
patriarch  was  a  grey-headed  old  man,  with 
a  cunning  expression  of  countenance ;  his  very 
look  seemed  to  say,  '  I  am  about  to  act  a  lie — 
what  fools  are  you  to  believe  it!'  There  is  a 
circular  hole  in  the  side  of  the  little  chapel 
built  over  the  sepulchre ;  close  to  it  a  man  was 
posted,  protected  by  the  soldiers.  He  was  a 
rich  pilgrim,  probably  an  Armenian,  who  had 
paid  handsomely  for  the  privilege  of  being  the 
first  to  light  his  tapers  by  the  holy  fire.  Tlie 
old  patriarch,  having  divested  himself  of  most 
of  his  fine  trappings,  entered  alone  into  the 
sanctuary.  In  a  minute  after,  he  pushed 
through  the  hole  a  quantity  of  flaming  cotton, 
dipped  in  spirits  of  wine;  the  favoured  pilgrim 
eagerly  lighted  a  bunch  of  tapers  by  it,  and, 
escorted  by  the  soldiers,  liurried  out  of  the 
church.  The  excitement  was  now  at  its 
height ;  a  scene  followed  which  baffles  de- 
scription. There  was  a  tremendous  rush 
towards  the  flame,  still  held  out  by  the 
patriarch,  and  each  strove  who  should  light  his 
taper  the  earliest.  Those  who  could  not  get 
up  to  head-quarters  were  obliged  to  procure  a 


THE  POWER  OF  SATAN.  175 

light  from  the  more  fortunate,  and  in  three 
minutes  the  church  and  adjoining  chapels  were 
in  a  blaze.  Thousands  of  wax-candies  and 
flambeaux  were  glittering  over  the  space ;  some 
had  forty  or  fifty  long  thin  tapers  bound  to- 
gether, which  were  intended  as  valuable  pre- 
sents for  friends  at  home.  It  was,  for  the 
time,  like  Bedlam  let  loose :  some  were  kneeling 
in  ecstatic  adoration,  others  screaming,  dancing, 
and  jumping;  the  more  zealous  put  the  flame 
into  their  mouths,  or  applied  it  to  their  faces  or 
naked  breasts.  It  is  asserted  that  the  holy  fire 
does  not  burn  or  hurt  any  one,  but  Mr.  Dalton 
noticed  that  few  kept  it  long  enough  near  to 
give  it  a  fair  trial.  In  ten  minutes  every  taper 
was  extinguished,  and  the  pilgrims  dispersed, 
carrying  away  the  precious  relics."* 

In  former  parts  of  this  volume,  it  has  been 
shown  that  surprising  effects  are  frequently 
produced  for  the  amusement  of  others,  or  from 
the  love  of  gain  and  celebrity,  so  common  to 
fallen  man.  And,  doubtless,  wherever  true 
piety  does  not  operate — the  piety  which  is 
displayed  in  supreme  love  to  God,  and  pure 
and  expansive  benevolence  to  man — there  will 
be  some  manifestation  of  the  "spirit"  that 
worketh  in  "  the  children  of  disobedience." 
While  "  he  that  doeth  righteousness  is  righteous, 
he  that  committeth  sin  is  of  the  devil ;  for  the 
devil  sinneth  from  the  beginning,"  1  John  iii.  7, 8. 

To  transgressors  of  every  age  our  Lord  still 
says,  "  Ye  are  of  your  father  the  devil,  and  the 
"  Tlie  Boat  and  the  Caravan." 


176  PRETENDED  MIRACLES. 

lusts  of  your  father  ye  will  do,"  John  viii.  44. 
And  bondage  to  the  "  god  of  this  world"  brings 
on  his  captives,  whether  old  or  young,  rich  or 
poor,  instructed  or  untaught,  not  only  guilt  but 
misery;  while  "the  end  of  these  things  is 
death,"  Rom.  vi.  21. 

But   when  we   see   impious    pretences    em- 
ployed in  order  to  hold  the  minds  of  men  in 
the  most  degrading  vassalage,  we  have  a  fearful 
display  of  enormous  guilt,  accumulated  by  a 
wilful  subjection  to  "  the  father  of  lies."    Satan 
was   "  a  liar  from  the  beginning."     To  accom- 
plish his  purposes,  he  can  "  transform  himself 
into  an  angel  of  light;"  and  still  he  leads  mul- 
titudes "captive  at  his  will."     Marvellous  is  the 
forbearance  of  the  Supreme   Governor  of  the 
universe,  who  does  not  at  once  ease  him  of  his 
adversaries,  but  still   richly  and   freely  offers 
the  blessings  of  salvation  to  a  world  which  lieth 
in  the  wicked  one.     Who  will  not  desire  that 
the   goodness  of  God   may  lead   the   greatest 
transgressors  to  repentance  ?     And,  as  one  act 
of  submission  to  the  prince  of  the  power  of  the 
air  is  a  fearful  step  towards  an  absolute  and 
eternal  thraldom,    it  becomes   each    of  us  to 
imitate   those  who   could    say,  "  We  are   not 
ignorant  of  his  devices;"  constantly  to  present 
at  the  throne  of  grace  the  petition,  "  Lead  us 
not  into  temptation,  but  deliver  us  from  evil;" 
and  to  trust  implicitly  in  Him  who,   on  the 
cross  having  "  spoiled  principalities  and  powers, 
made  a  show  of  them  openly,  triumphing  over 
them  in  it,"  2  Cor.  ii.  11 ;  Matt.  vi.  13 ;  Col.  ii.  15. 


CHAPTER   XL 

Real  Miracles — A  miracle  defined  by  archbishop  Tillotsoii — 
The  miracles  of  Moses — The  miracles  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ— The  miracles  of  the  apostles— Collision  with  those 
who  pretended  to  supernatural  power— The  magicians  of 
Egypt— Magical  arts  at  Ephesus — The  miraculous  power  of 
the  Saviour  inherent,  that  of  the  prophets  and  apostles 
derived — Cessation  of  miraculous  gifts. 

We  now  enter  on  a  brief  consideration  of  un- 
questionable miracles.     As  the  grant  of  Divine 
revelation  was  made  to  some  persons  who  were 
to    proclaim  it  to  the  whole  human  race,   so, 
while  holy  men  of  God   spake  as  they  were 
moved  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  the  broad  seal  of 
Heaven  was  placed  by  miracles  on  their  testi- 
mony.    As  a  man's  signature  gives  validity  to 
his  bond,  or  the  credentials  of  an  ambassador 
demonstrate  his  right  to  transact  the  business  of 
his  sovereign ;  so  the  supernatural  works  per- 
formed by  the  prophets,   by  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  arid  by  his  apostles,  prove  as  fully  to 
those  who  witnessed  them,  that  the  words  they 
heard  proceeded   from  .God,    as   if  they  had 
listened    to  him    pronouncing  them  with    an 
audible  voice  from  the  excellent  glory;    while 
all  to  whom  their  testimony  has  been  faithfully 
transmitted,  may  cherish  an  equal  confidence. 

177 


178  MIRACLES. 

It  has  been  Avell  remarked  by  archbishop 
Tillotson,  that  "there  are  two  things  necessary 
in  a  miracle :  that  there  should  be  a  supernatural 
effect,  and  that  this  effect  should  be  evident  to 
sense."  He  adds,  "  Neither  in  Scripture,  nor 
in  profane  authors,  nor  in  common  use,  is  any- 
thing called  a  miracle  but  what  falls  under  the 
cognizance  of  the  senses;  a  miracle  being 
nothing  else  but  a  supernatural  effect  evident  to 
sense,  the  great  end  and  design  whereof  is  to  be 
the  sensible  proof  and  conviction  of  something 
that  we  do  not  see."  The  church  of  Rome 
affirms  that,  in  the  celebration  of  the  mass,  the 
bread  and  wine  are  changed  into  the  very  body 
and  blood,  soul  and  Divinity,  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ;  though  they  retain  exactly  the  same 
appearance  that  they  had  before  the  change  is 
said  to  have  occurred.  Hence,  the  same  writer 
argues,  "  For  want  of  a  supernatural  effect 
evident  to  sense,  transubstantiation  is  no  mira- 
cle ;  a  sign  or  a  miracle  is  always  a  thing 
sensible,  otherwise  it  could  be  no  sign.  Now, 
that  such  a  change  in  transubstantiation  should 
really  be  wrought,  and  yet  that  there  should 
be  no  sign  of  it,  is  a  thing  very  wonderful ;  but 
not  to  sense,  for  our  senses  perceive  no  change. 
And  that  a  thing  should  remain  to  all  appearance 
just  as  it  was,  hath  nothing  at  all  wonderful  in 
it.  We  wonder,  indeed,  when  we  see  a  strange 
thing  done,  but  no  man  wonders  when  he  sees 
nothing  done." 

Numberless  were  the  miracles  wrought  by 
Jehovah  in  ancient  times,  in  behalf  of  his  chosen 


MIRACLES  IN  THE  WILDERNESS.  179 

people.  In  vain  does  infidelity  object  that  the 
contents  of  the  books  of  Moses  may  not  be  true; 
since,  had  they  been  false,  it  was  absolutely 
impossible  that  they  could  have  obtained  any 
credit.  The  number  of  the  people  must  have 
amounted  to  three  millions,  and  every  adult 
person  was  a  competent  judge  whether  the 
things  related  to  have  taken  place  within  his 
own  memory  had  really  happened. 

The  Israelites  would  not  have  believed  that 
the  Red  Sea  was  divided  to  give  them  a  pass- 
age— that,  during  their  pilgrimage  of  forty 
years  in  the  wilderness,  a  miraculous  cloud  had 
guided  them  by  day,  and  become  at  night  a 
fire  casting  round  its  radiance — that  they  had 
been  supplied  with  manna  from  heaven,  falling 
on  six  successive  days  around  their  camp,  and  on 
the  last  of  them  a  double  quantity,  to  prevent  its 
being  gathered  on  the  sabbath — that  God  had 
published  his  law  on  the  mount  that  might  not 
be  touched,  amidst  thunders,  and  lightning,  and 
tempest — and  that  he  had  punished  its  violation 
by  terrible  plagues — for  them  to  believe  these 
things  would  have  been  absolutely  impossible, 
had  the  v/hole  narrative  been  a  fiction.  A 
romance  would  have  excited  their  ridicule,  and 
the  yoke  Avhich,  on  the  ground  of  the  invention, 
was  to  be  placed  about  their  necks,  would  have 
been  rejected  with  the  utmost  indignation.  It  is 
also  moraUy  impossible  that  the  books  of  Moses 
could  have  been  received  in  the  age  immediately 
after  his  death,  if  their  contents  had  been  false; 
and  highly  improbable  that,  though  true,  they 


180  MIRACLES. 

Avonlcl  have  bsen  considered  his  writings,  if  they 
had  been  set  forth  by  some  other  person  in  his 
name,  and  had  not  appeared  till  he  was  lying 
in  his  grave. 

It  would  be  easy  to  show  that  the  wondrous 
acts  recorded  are  traced  explicitly  to  Divine 
operation.  In  illustration  of  this,  the  following 
passages  may  be  taken  :  "  I  am  the  Lord,  your 
Holy  One,  the  Creator  of  Israel,  your  King." 
"  Thus  saith  the  Lord,  which  maketh  a  way  in 
the  sea  and  a  path  in  the  mighty  waters;" 
alluding,  most  probably,  to  the  passage  of  Israel 
through  the  Red  Sea,  and,  afterwards,  to  their 
crossing  the  Jordan,  both  of  which  events  were 
unquestionably  miraculous. 

That  one  great  object  kept  in  view  by  the 
Redeemer  in  performing  miracles  was,  to  furnish 
convincing  proofs  of  his  Divine  mission,  is 
evident  from  the  uniform  tenor  of  the  inspired 
narratives.  Nicodenuis  reasoned  justly  when  he 
said,  "  Rabbi,  we  know  that  thou  art  a  teacher 
come  from  God:  for  no  man  can  do  these  miracles 
that  thou  doest,  except  God  be  with  him,"  John 
iii.  2.  The  same  conviction  was  possessed  by 
the  chief  priests  and  the  Pharisees,  for  they 
said,  after  the  resurrection  of.  Lazarus,  '•  This 
man  doeth  many  miracles:  if  Ave  let  him  thus 
alone  all  men  will  believe  on  him,"  John  xi. 
47,  48.  Our  Lord  himself  appeals  to  his  mira- 
cles: "  I  have  greater  witness  than  that  of  John, 
for  the  works  which  the  Father  hath  given  me  to 
jinish,  the  same  works  that  I  do  bear  witness  of 
me,  that  the  Father  hath  sent  me,"  John  v.  36. 


THE  RESURRECTION  OF  CHRIST.  181 

It  is  impossible,  therefore,  tliat  any  statement 
could  be  more  plain  and  decisive.  Our  Lord 
rests  his  claim  to  be  believed  on  the  wonders 
he  wrought.  Again,  he  says,  "  If  I  had  not 
done  among  them  the  works  which  none  other 
man  did,  they  had  not  had  sin ;  but  now  they 
have  no  cloak  for  their  sin."  Thus,  we  see  the 
wonders  which  Christ  wrought  were  unparal- 
leled. He  healed  the  sick,  he  penetrated  the 
minds  of  men  by  his  own  infinite  power.  And 
hence,  the  unbelief  of  those  who  witnessed  his 
mighty  deeds  appeared  in  all  its  aggravated  and 
naked  enormity;  "their  sin  remained."  But, in 
direct  opposition  to  this,  there  Avould  have  been 
a  plea  for  unbelief  had  pretended  miracles  been 
true.  Had  it  been  a  fact,  instead  of  a  fable,  that 
^sculapius  had  cured  disease  at  his  oracle,  or 
that  the  god  of  the  oracle  of  Claros  had  known 
the  thoughts  of  men's  hearts,  then,  and  then 
only,  there  would  have  been  a  cover  for  their 
iniquity. 

Were  we  to  select  one  miracle  as  demonstra- 
tive that  Jesus  was  sent  by  the  Father,  and  of 
the  acceptance  of  his  work;  and,  still  further, 
of  the  futility  of  every  objection  that  can  be 
raised  against  it ;  it  should  be  that  of  the  resur- 
rection of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  *'  See,"  says 
Saurin,  "  how  many  extravagant  suppositions 
must  be  advanced  if  the  resurrection  of  our 
Saviour  be  denied.  It  must  be  supposed  that 
guards,  who  had  been  particularly  cautioned 
by  their  officers,  sat  down  to  sleep ;  and  that, 
nevertheless,  they  deserved  credit  when  the 
16 


182  MIRACLES. 

bod}'-  of  Jesus  was  stolen.  It  must  be  supposed 
that  men  who  had  been  imposed  on  in  the 
most  odious  and  cruel  manner  in  the  world, 
hazarded  their  dearest  enjoyments  for  the  glory 
of  an  impostor.  It  must  be  supposed  that 
ignorant  and  illiterate  men,  who  had  neither 
reputation,  fortune,  nor  eloquence,  possessed 
the  art  of  fascinating  the  eyes  of  all  the  church. 
It  must  be  supposed  either  that  five  hundred 
persons  were  all  deprived  of  their  sense?  at  a 
time,  or  that  they  were  all  deceived  in  the 
plainest  matters  of  fact ;  or,  that  this  multitude 
of  false  witnesses  had  found  out  the  secret  of 
never  contradicting  themselves  or  one  another, 
and  of  being  always  uniform  in  their  testimony. 
It  must  be  supposed  that  the  most  expert 
courts  of  judicature  could  not  find  out  a  shadow 
of  a  contradiction  in  a  palpable  imposture.  It 
must  be  supposed  that  the  apostles,  sensible 
men  in  other  cases,  chose  precisely  those  places 
and  those  times  which  were  most  unfavourable 
to  their  views.  It  must  be  supposed  that 
millions  madly  suffered  imprisonments,  tortures, 
and  crucifixion,  to  spread  an  illusion.  It  must 
be  supposed  that  ten  thousand  miracles  were 
wrought  in  favour  of  falsehoods,  or  all  these 
facts  must  be  denied.  And  then,  it  must  be 
supposed  that  the  apostles  were  idiots,  that  the 
enemies  of  Christianity  were  idiots,  and  that  all 
the  primitive  Christians  were  idiots." 

The  apostles  of  our  Lord  were  invested  with 
miraculous  powers  :  "  God  also  bearing  them 
witness,  both  with  signs  and  wonders,  and  with 


CONTESTS  WITH  PRETENDERS.  183 

divers  miracles  and  gifts  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 
according  to  his  own  will,"  Heb.  ii.  4.  As  the 
apostles  asserted  a  direct  and  unequivocal  claim 
to  miraculous  powers,  and  as  these  are  declared 
in  the  New  Testament  to  have  been  exerted 
by  them,  falsehood,  if  proved,  would  destroy 
the  veracity  of  their  writings,  and  the  validity 
of  all  the  doctrines  and  precepts  they  contained. 
But,  let  the  case  be  duly  weighed,  and  it  will  '' 
be  seen,  that,  to  support  their  pretensions  by 
artifice  and  chicanery,  was  absolutely  impossi- 
ble. A  few  might  be  deceived,  an  empire 
could  not  be  ;  and  great  must  be  the  infatua- 
tion of  supposing  that  a  few  obscure  men  could 
blind  the  eyes  of  the  people  among  whom  they 
lived.  In  the  face  of  the  utmost  hostility,  in 
the  midst  of  the  greatest  perils,  in  defiance  of 
cruel  persecutions,  and  with  the  crucifixion  of 
their  Lord  before  their  eyes,  they  could  not 
have  claimed  the  exercise  of  miraculous  powers 
if  they  had  not  been  actually  possessed.  Had 
they  resembled  the  Romanists,  to  whom  we 
have  referred,  would  it  have  been  possible  to 
escape  detection  ? 

It  is  worthy  of  special  remark,  that  more 
than  one  account  is  given  us  in  sacred  history 
of  the  messengers  of  God  entering  into  collision' 
with  those  who  pretended  to  supernatural 
power.  Thus  a  memorable  contest  took  place 
between  Moses  and  the  magicians  of  Pharaoh's 
court.  Different  opinions  are  entertained  as  to 
the  means  by  which  the  latter  performed  their 
feats,  some  contending   that   they  were   mere 


184  MIRACLES. 

tricks,  and  others  that  evil  spirits  were  in  active 
operation.  On  this  controverted  question  we 
do  not  enter  ;  it  is  sufficient  for  the  present 
purpose  to  remark,  that  the  superiority  of  the 
servants  of  Jehovah  was  placed  beyond  all  dis- 
pute. The  rod  of  Aaron  swallowed  up  the 
rods  of  the  magicians  ;  at  the  plague  of  flies 
and  the  murrain  on  the  cattle,  they  were  com- 
pelled to  say,  "  This  is  the  finger  of  God  ;"  and 
at  length  they  "  could  not  stand  before  Moses 
because  of  the  boils,  for  the  boils  were  upon  the 
magicians  and  all  the  Egyptians,"  Exod.ix.  11. 

Another  instance  of  a  later  date  is  equally 
conclusive.  The  gospel  was  proclaimed  at 
Ephesus,  where  the  arts  which  pretended  to 
lay  open  the  secrets  of  nature,  and  to  arm  the 
hand  of  man  with  supernatural  powers,  were 
especially  apparent.  Indeed,  in  the  age  of  our 
Lord  and  his  apostles,  pretended  adepts  in  the 
occult  sciences  were  numerous  ;  they  travelled 
from  country  to  country,  and  were  found  in  great 
numbers  in  Asia,  deceiving  the  credulous  mul- 
titude, and  profiting  by  their  expectations. 
They  were  sometimes  Jews,  who  referred  their 
skill,  and  even  their  forms  of  proceeding,  to 
Solomon,  who  is  still  regarded  in  the  east  as 
the  head  or  prince  of  magicians.  In  Asia 
Minor,  Ephesus  had  a  high  reputation  for 
magical  arts.  Here,  then,  "  God  wrought  spe- 
cial miracles  by  the  hands  of  .Paul."  The 
appeal  to  the  wonder-workers  of  a  country 
which  contained  so  magnificent  a  temple  to 
Diana,  that  it  was  reckoned  among  the  wonders 


MAGICAL  ARTS  AT  EPHESUS.  185 

of  the  world,  was  singularly  striking.  Accus- 
tomed as  the  Ephesians  were  to  produce  strange 
results  by  some  species  of  magic,  they  would 
naturally  ascribe  miracles  to  a  similar  agency. 
It  was  necessary,  therefore,  that  the  miracles 
which  were  to  serve  as  the  credentials  of  Chris- 
tianity, should  be  especially  marked,  and  placed 
beyond  the  reach  of  all  their  enchantments  and 
incantations.  And  it  seems  an  instance  not 
the  less  remarkable,  because  easily  overlooked, 
of  the  adaptation  of  _  means  to  an  end,  that  in 
Ephesus,  in  which,  of  all  others,  magic  was 
resorted  to,  the  powers  granted  to  the  first 
heralds  of  redeeming  mercy  sufficed  to  place 
them  at  an  immeasurable  distance  above  the 
most  consummate  magicians. 

Another  fact  is  equally  entitled  to  attention. 
Certain  Jews  travelling  in  that  country,  and  pro- 
fessing to  cast  out  the  evil  spirits  which  frequently 
possessed  the  bodies  of  men,  took  upon  them, 
as  avowed  exorcists,  to  employ  the  name  of  the 
Lord  Jesus,  from  the  success  with  which  it  was 
used  by  the  apostle  Paul.  Amongst  these  were 
the  seven  sons  of  Sceva,  a  Jew,  who  addressed 
an  evil  spirit  in  the  name  of  Christ,  thinking, 
perhaps,  that  their  number  would  give  special 
force  to  their  adjuration.  The  spirit,  however, 
answered,  "  Jesus  I  know,  and  Paul  I  know, 
but  who  are  ye  ?"  nor  was  he  content  with 
refusing  to  be  thus  ejected;  for,  causing  the 
man  in  whom  he  dwelt  to  put  forth  super- 
natural strength,  "  he  leaped  upon  the  young 
men  and  overcame  them,  and  forced  them  to 
16* 


186  MIRACLES. 

flee  out  of  the  house  naked  and  wounded." 
These  facts  soon  became  notorious  ;  fear  fell 
alike  on  the  Jews  and  Greeks  residing  at  Ephe- 
sus  ;  the  most  potent  appeal  had  been  made  to 
those  accustomed  to  use  charms  and  incanta- 
tions ;  and  numbers  were  led  at  once  to  re- 
nounce their  arts  of  magic. 

Very  celebrated  were  the  "  Ephesian  letters," 
which  appear  to  have  been  a  sort  of  magical 
formula  written  on  paper  or  parchment,  de- 
signed to  be  fixed  as  amulets  on  different  parts 
of  the  body,  such  as  the  hands  and  the  head. 
Erasmus  says,  that  they  were  certain  signs  or 
marks  which  rendered  their  possessor  victorious 
in  everything.  Eustatius  mentions  an  opinion 
that  Croesus,  Avhen  on  his  funeral  pile,  was  very 
much  benefited  by  the  use  of  them  ;  and  that 
when  a  Milesian  and  an  Ephesian  were  wrest- 
ling in  the  Olympic  games,  the  former  could 
gain  no  advantage,  as  the  latter  had  Ephesian 
letters  bound  round  his  heel ;  but  these  being 
removed  he  lost  his  superiority,  and  was  thrown 
thirty  times.  Many  of  these  were,  probably, 
among  the  books  of  which  we  read,  Acts  xix. 
19  ;  while  others  were  most  likely  occupied  by 
descriptions  of  the  prevailing  modes  of  prac- 
tising "  enchantments."  But  all  were  promptly 
and  cheerfully  consigned  to  the  flames.  Thus 
the  sincerity  of  the  converts  was  evident  by  no 
trifling  sacrifice,  for,  when  they  counted  the 
price  of  these  books,  they  "  found  it  fifty  thou- 
sand pieces  of  silver.  So  mightily  grew  the 
word  of  God  and  prevailed." 


THE  POWER  OF  CHRIST  INHERENT.  187 

That  there  was  a  difference  between  the 
operations  of  the  apostles  and  the  agency  of  our 
Lord,  should  be  clearly  perceived.  The  power 
of  the  Saviour  was  inherent — that  of  the  apostles 
was  derived.  How  manifest  is  the  miraculous 
agency  of  Christ  shown  in  the  cure  of  the 
leper  I  "  Lord,  if  thou  wilt,"  said  he  to  the 
Saviour,  "  thou  canst  make  me  clean."  Jesus 
answered,  "  I  will — be  thou  clean,"  and  imme- 
diately he  was  made  whole.  Our  Lord  made 
no  appeal  to  any  other  power.  At  the  grave  of 
Lazarus,  indeed,  he  "  lifted  up  his  eyes,  and 
said.  Father,  I  thank  thee  that  thou  hast  heard 
me."  But  this  prayer  appears  to  have  been 
offered  not  on  his  own  account,  but  for  the 
sake  of  those  who  surrounded  him,  and  who 
needed  such  a  seal  to  his  mission  to  establish 
their  faith.  Therefore,  he  added,  "And  I  know 
that  thou  hearest  me  always :  but  because  of 
the  people  which  stand  by  I  said  it,  that  they 
may  believe  that  thou  hast  sent  me."  And 
as  on  other  occasions,  he  said,  "  Thy  sins  are 
forgiven  thee" — "  Aj-ise,  take  up  thy  bed  and 
walk" — "I  command  thee  to  come  out  of  her," 
so  now  he  cried  with  a  loud  voice,  "  Lazarus, 
come  forth.  And  he  that  was  dead  came  forth, 
bound  hand  and  foot  with  grave-clothes:  and 
his  face  was  bound  about  with  a  napkin.  Jesus 
saith  unto  them.  Loose  him,  and  let  him  go," 
John  xi.  42 — 44. 

Our  Lord  had  previously  said,  "  Therefore, 
doth  my  Father  love  me,  because  I  lay  down 
my  life,  that  I  might  take  it  again.     No  man 


188  MIRACLES. 

taketh  it  from  me,  but  I  lay  it  down  of  myself. 
I  have  power  to  lay  it  down,  and  I  have  power 
to  take  it  again.  This  commandment  have  I 
received  of  my  Father,"  John  x.  17,  18.  In  like 
manner,  Jesus  said  to  Martha,  "  1  am  the  resur- 
rection, and  the  life  :  he  that  believeth  in  me, 
though  he  were  dead,  yet  shall  he  live:  and 
whosoever  liveth  and  believeth  in  me  shall  never 
die,"  John  xi.  25,  26.  How  strikingly  con- 
trasted was  the  language  of  the  apostles!  In 
the  case  of  the  lame  man  laid  at  the  beautiful 
gate  of  the  temple,  Peter  said,  "  Silver  and 
gold  have  I  none;  but  such  as  I  have  give  I 
thee:  In  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ  of  Nazareth, 
rise  up  and  walk."  These  words,  uttered  on 
the  first  miracle  of  the  apostles,  expressed  the 
great  principle  on  which  they  performed  every 
other,  and  the  spirit  in  which  they  wrought  all 
their  wondrous  deeds. 

The  apostle,  like  the  prophet,  laid  down  his 
authority,  and  resigned  his  commission  with 
his  life;  but  our  Lord, Jesus  Christ  not  only- 
exercised  his  power  amidst  his  last  sufferings 
and  death,  but  extended  his  authority  beyond 
the  grave."  "  I  lay  down  my  life  of  myself; 
no  man  taketh  it  from  me ;  I  have  power  to  lay 
it  down,  and  I  have  power  to  take  it  again." 
And  though  he  said,  "  This  commandment 
have  I  received  of  my  Father,"  he  also  added, 
"  I  and  my  Father  are  one" — "  thereby,"  as  the 
Jews  distinctly  perceived,  "  making  himself 
equal  with  God." 

Even  the  diversity  of  gifts  distributed  among 


CESSATION  OF  MIRACLES.  189 

primitive  saints,  proved  the  infinite  resources 
of  Him  by  whom  they  were  granted.  Though 
bestowed  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  they  were  pur- 
chased by  the  blood  and  supplied  by  the  grace 
of  the  Son  of  God.  Speaking  of  the  outpouring 
of  the  Spirit,  and  its  results,  Jesus  said,  "  He 
shall  receive  of  mine,  and  shall  show  it  unto 
you."  Most  emphatically  does  he  lay  claim  to 
all  the  fulness  of  the  Godhead,  when  he  adds, 
"  All  things  that  the  Father  hath  are  mine : 
therefore  said  I,  that  he  shall  take  of  mine,  and 
show  it  unto  you."  Thus,  the  gift  of  tongues, 
of  miracles,  of  prophecy,  and  of  interpretation, 
proved  the  infinite  power  of  the  Giver,  on  whose 
will  the  extent  and  diversity  of  the  operation 
alike  depended.  Some  had  one  power  and 
some  another:  but  all  these  wrought  that  one 
and  the  selfsame  Spirit,  dividing  to  every  man 
severally  as  he  would.  1  Cor.  xii.  11. 

The  miraculous  endowments  of  early  times 
were,  however,  transient.  Certain  facts  appear 
to  be  conclusive  on  this  point.  No  gift  was 
more  highly  estimated,  or  considered  more 
necessary  for  the  propagation  of  the  gospel, 
than  the  gift  of  tongues.  And  yet,  this  was, 
unquestionably,  of  short  duration.  The  only 
reference  made  to  it  in  all  the  documents  of 
antiquity,  is  in  the  work  of  Irenseus  against  the 
heretics.  He  says,  "  We  hear  of  many  in  the 
church  imbued  with  prophetic  gifts,  speaking 
with  all  kinds  of  tongues."  But  though  he 
must  have  required  the  gift  as  much  as  any — 
for  he  was  called  to  labour  for  the  diffusion  of 


190  MIRACLES. 

the  gospel  among  the  pagan  Celts — yet  he  ex- 
press!}'' declares,  "  It  was  not  the  least  part  of 
his  trouble,  that  he  was  forced  to  learn  the 
language  of  the  country,  a  rude  and  barbarous 
dialect,  before  he  could  effect  any  good  among 
them."  Augustine,  it  is  evident,  knew  nothing 
of  supernatural  power  like  that  which  some 
had  possessed  at  a  former  period.  "  In  the 
primitive  times,"  he  says,  "  the  Holy  Spirit  fell 
upon  believers,  and  they  spoke  in  tongues 
which  they  had  not  learned,  as  the  Spirit  gave 
them  utterance.  These  were  signs  suitable  for 
the  time.  It  was  right  that  the  Holy  Spirit 
should  thus  be  borne  witness  of  in  all  tongues, 
throughout  the  world.  That  testimony  being 
given,  it  passed  away."  With  equal  expli- 
citness  Chrysostom  affirms,  "  Of  miraculous 
powers  not  so  much  as  a  single  vestige  or  trace 
remains." 

In  vain  do  Romanists  contend  for  the  con- 
tinuance of  miracles.  Never  have  they  been 
able  to  produce  a  solitary  instance  in  which  the 
gift  of  tongues  has  been  exercised.  And  yet, 
if  any  member  of  their  church  might  have 
been  expected  to  be  so  endowed,  it  certainly 
would  have  been  Francis  Xavier,  who  has  been 
called  "  the  apostle  of  the  Indies."  But  even 
he  confesses  that,  ignorant  of  the  language  of 
the  people  to  whom  he  went,  he  was  incapable 
of  doing  any  service  to  the  Christian  cause,  and 
was  little  more  than  a  mute  statue  among 
them,  till  he  could  acquire  some  competent 
knowledge  of  their  tongues. 


CESSATION  OF  MIRACLES.  191 

Miracles  have  passed  away ;  but  we  still 
possess  the  glorious  gospel  of  the  blessed  God. 
A  power,  however,  more  than  human  is  needed 
to  apply  it  to  the  heart.  To  open  the  blind 
eyes,  to  unstop  the  deaf  ears,  to  give  spiritual 
discernment  to  the  mind,  to  break  down  pre- 
judice, to  humble  pride,  to  "cast  down  imagina- 
tions and  every  high  thing  that  exalteth  itself 
against  the  knowledge  of  God,"  is  the  work  of 
the  Holy  Spirit.  Paul,  as  he  cast  around  him 
"  the  good  seed  of  the  kingdom,"  might  have 
given  up  all  in  despair,  but  for  interposing 
Omnipotence.  "  I  have  planted,"  he  said, 
"  Apollos  watered  ;  but  God  gave  the  increase. 
So  then  neither  is  he  that  planteth  anything, 
neither  he  that  watereth ;  but  God  that  giveth 
the  increase." 

There  is,  however,  a  great  diversity  in  the 
operations  of  the  same  Divine  Spirit.  Some 
are  brought  at  once  "  from  the  power  of  Satan 
unto  God;"  and  ever  will  the  time  and  circum- 
stances of  their  conversion  be  held  in  remem- 
brance. Others  are  led  by  a  slow  and  gradual 
process — perhaps  scarcely  perceptible,  and 
affording  few  points  of  prominent  recollection, 
out  of  darkness  into  "  marvellous  light."  Still 
the  result  is  the  same.  All  are  brought  to 
Jesus,  and  believe  on  him  as  having  died  for 
their  sins,  and  risen  again  for  their  justification; 
all  by  virtue  of  union  with  him,  imder  the 
sanctifying  influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  are  be- 
come new  creatures,  enjoying  the  blessings  of  his 
great  salvation,  holding  communion  with  him, 


192  MIRACLES. 

increasing  in  resemblance  to  him,  and  yielding 
to  him  practical  obedience  and  devotion.  To 
him,  then,  let  us  constantly  look,  to  apply  the 
truth  to  our  own  consciences  and  hearts,  to 
sanctify  us  wholly,  body,  soul,  and  spirit,  and 
to  prosper  every  effort  we  make  in  behalf  of 
others. 


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